Elpis
by Paint Splat
Summary: As of yesterday, Peridot had lost all the faith she had in her history teacher (granted, she didn't have much, but whatever). No one in their right mind would look at Jasper and Peridot and decide that they were the perfect partners for their end-of-term project on Ancient Greece. [Jasper/Peridot High School AU, in progress]
1. Jasper Can Totally Draw Fuck You Peridot

_a/n:_ _i wrote this on a whim and now it's seriously out of hand help_

 _welcome to beach city high school! your resident meathead and nerd greet you fondly, or they would if they could stop arguing for one second :(_

 _more about the actual high school and stuff will be expanded on in the next chapter, however i'm unsure when i can update as i have a big science test in a couple of weeks and i need to study. hopefully i won't abandon this. also, i'm hoping to make the chapters longer when i have more time to write._

 _for now, enjoy! and please leave a review and tell me what you liked 3_

* * *

"Yo, nerd, for half a moment there I thought you weren't going to show up." That was the way Jasper chose to greet Peridot as she opened the door. Peridot raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Unlike _some_ people, I am actually invested in this project. Of course I showed up, despite the company I would have to be keeping," Peridot replied, stepping into Jasper's house as the taller girl closed the door behind her. She politely removed her black boots, and couldn't help but notice Jasper was wearing a Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens shirt, and wondered if the girl owned anything that wasn't sports-related.

She sniffed and tossed her emerald green scarf over her shoulder.

As of yesterday, Peridot had lost all the faith she had in her history teacher (granted, she didn't have much, but whatever). No one in their right mind would look at Jasper and Peridot and decide that they were the perfect partners for their end-of-term project on Ancient Greece.

Peridot sighed internally. But no matter. They had ten weeks left of senior year and she was not going to have it ruined by some meathead jock who couldn't tell the difference between Sparta and Athens.

"Are you coming or not, shortbus?"

Peridot snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality. "Yeah, of course," she said, hoping she sounded like she'd been listening the entire time. By the look on Jasper's face, she knew she'd failed.

"So where are we going? I just need reminding," Jasper asked, her mouth twisted into a smirk.

"… Shut up," Peridot said. Jasper chuckled.

"Come on," she gestured, leading Peridot through a doorway into a short and narrow hallway, which ended in a flight of stairs going down, "the way to the basement is down here."

 _Basement?_ Peridot thought. _Typical_.

Jasper led Peridot down the stairs and into a surprisingly spacious room. There was an old beat-up leather couch, a TV with an Xbox next to it, a mini fridge, speakers and an iPod dock, wooden shelves filled with DVDs and games, posters covering the walls, and (most curiously) a twin-sized bed in the left corner.

"Make yourself at home, squirt," Jasper said, putting her hands on her hips as if she was proud of the place. She surveyed the room like a business man looks at his flourishing company. Peridot knew that look. Her dad wore it all the time.

"I have a name, you know," she snapped, as she made her way to the couch and sat down. The couch creaked ominously as she sat down on it. She winced as a spring dug into her thigh and shuffled around a bit, finally crossing her legs and resolving to just deal with it.

"Alright, so Mr. Lewis said we can choose any topic we like and present it in any medium so long as it represents the culture and splendour of Ancient Greece." Peridot pulled a sleek chrome laptop from its black bag and started it up. "I recommend presenting things in a technological medium to take advantage of my prowess in that particular field – unless you have any other ideas, Jasper? … Jasper! Are you even listening to me?"

Jasper smirked when she looked up from her iPod. "I can hear you. And careful, you don't want to strain your vocal chords. I'm surprised they've lasted this long already all things considered."

Peridot narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"It means you talk a lot. Face the truth like a man," Jasper retorted, finally placing the iPod on the dock. Loud music started to play from the speakers, heavy with guitars and drums. Peridot winced.

"I think I'll pass," she said, sniffing, "and turn that infernal music off! We're trying to work, not throw a mosh pit for two!"

"Geez, didn't know you were so sensitive," Jasper said, but turned it off anyway. She threw herself down onto the couch next to Peridot, sprawled out like she was royalty.

"So, as I was saying - "

"I know you wanna do some nerdy PowerPoint presentation or something, but come on! That's so boring!" Jasper said.

"Excuse me?" Peridot fumed. "Are you insulting my talents?"

Jasper scoffed. "I'm just saying, I have talents too y'know!"

"Let me guess, you're a very gifted artist?" Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"I could be!"

"Well it doesn't matter what way we present it when we don't even know what we're doing the project on yet," Peridot, swiftly changed the topic, before Jasper got enraged about her (most likely non-existent) art skills.

"We should do war!"

"How about politics?"

"Bleh, that's boring! Sport!"

"What about the gods?"

"Ares, god of war!"

"Athena, goddess of war strategy and wisdom!"

"Let's recreate some battle armour!"

"Or we could do something a little less dangerous," Peridot said. However, she wasn't really complaining. Whatever got Jasper invested in the project worked for her.

"How about a war re-enactment?"

"Isn't that a bit too nerdy for the likes of you?" Peridot asked.

"Hey, as long as I'm beating people up I'm okay with it," Jasper said, stretching her arms out behind her head and then linking her fingers together, grinning smugly.

Peridot nearly growled with frustration. "No one will be beating up anyone, Jasper!"

"Of course no one will be beating me up, I'm too awesome! You, on the other hand … Yeah, you're toast, scrawny."

"Ugh, I am done with your childish thirst for violence and small attention span!" Peridot snapped. She stared at the blank word document she'd opened. _Useless_.

"Look," she said, placing two fingers to her temple. Jasper was really trying her patience, "here's what we'll do. We'll brainstorm ideas tonight and finalise what we're actually going to do tomorrow in history." She started to shut down her laptop. It was time for her to leave. Being around Jasper left her exhausted and confused.

"What if I come up with an amazing idea during the night and I _really_ need to tell you about it?" Jasper's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Peridot sighed. She reached in her rucksack and pulled out a stack of post-it notes and a pen. She scribbled something on the top note and then tore it off, taking pleasure in reaching over and sticking it to Jasper's forehead.

"Text me, if it's really that urgent," she said as she packed her stuff away.

"Bitch," Jasper said in amazement as she unstuck the post-it note from her forehead.

She stood up and escorted Peridot out back into the main hallway and leant against the wall as Peridot laced up her boots.

"Well, Jasper, it's been a … delight, as always," Peridot said in a monotone.

Jasper mock-saluted. "Love havin' you over, Peri. See, I can use your name!"

Peridot seethed. "That's not my name! I hate nicknames!" She sighed and composed herself before she could go on an angry rant.

"Goodbye, Jasper," she said as cordially as possible, before leaving as quickly as she could. She had to stop herself from slamming the door behind her.

She made her way home, thankful that she only lived about fifteen minutes away from Jasper. If she walked quickly, she could be home in time to eat something and then make a start on any homework she might have.

She felt a slight vibration in the pocket of her black shorts and pulled out her phone, delighted that the text was from Lapis, enquiring about how her time at Jasper's had gone. Peridot smiled slightly. Lapis always knew when she needed someone to listen to her rant about Jasper.

Lapis Lazuli had been Peridot's best friend since eighth grade, when Lapis had moved to the town. They were as close as two friends could be. They were even going to Prom together – platonically, of course. Though a part of Peridot couldn't help but wonder what might happen on that night.

She snapped herself out of her thoughts quickly, shaking her head. She'd promised herself to avoid going down that path. It would only lead to sadness.

She responded to Lapis cheerfully and they texted all the way until Peridot returned home. She texted Lapis goodbye and let herself in using her key, trudging up the stairs and placing her boots and bag in her room. She was about to go downstairs and greet her father when she felt her phone vibrate again in her pocket.

Her brow furrowed. Surely it wasn't Lapis, who had just texted her back?

She unlocked her phone and saw the text was from an unknown number. It was a picture message of a hand drawn cartoon figure wearing glasses and holding a laptop, bearing a remarkable likeness to Peridot herself. The speech bubble next to the figure read: 'Let's talk about technology!'.

 **Very impressive, Jasper** , she texted back.

 **I know right?! So are you sure I can't beat people up in our project now that I've drawn you this awesome picture?** , was the responsive she received.

She smirked. **I'll sleep on it** , she texted back.

Before going downstairs she saved the number on her phone, simply as 'Meathead'.


	2. Jasper the Maverick

Though Peridot liked to think of herself as superior, in all senses, to the majority of her classmates, she too hated mornings with the passion of a thousand angry stampeding wildebeests on their way to kill Mufasa. They always seemed to come to suddenly – one minute she was falling asleep, the next her alarm was tearing her out of her sweet dreams, k-pop blaring in her ear. It was the only thing loud enough that actually could wake her up.

When she was younger, her dad used to come and wake her up, but now that his job made him extra busy, he was usually gone before she even considered waking up.

Peridot had the mornings entirely to herself. And it was the time that she lived for. When she was alone, at peace, with only her own thoughts to occupy her, and not surrounded by any of the dumbasses who tried to pass themselves off as high school students.

Peridot contemplated this as she brewed her morning coffee, tugging her overlarge camouflage t-shirt down over her thighs just a bit more.

It wasn't as if she didn't like _some_ of her classmates – after all, she liked Lapis well enough. And she supposed Pearl and Garnet were nice enough, though she didn't talk to them much, and found that Junior that they hung out with, Amethyst, insufferable.

She just considered most of them way too self-obsessed. So what if she was hypocritical in that sense? It was a personal flaw.

Not being able to deal without technology for too long, she grabbed her phone and checked her text messages. She'd been up texting Lapis until late last night, but she still hadn't received a reply. She wasn't worried though. Lapis could always tell her whatever she needed to know when they walked to school.

More disturbingly, she had a message from Jasper.

' **Meathead' to 'Peridot'**

 **10** **th** **April 2015**

 **6:00 a.m.**

 **i hopr u have coffee ready for 1** **st** **period bc i am about to die**

She couldn't help but notice Jasper's _impeccable_ spelling skills early in the morning.

Peridot sighed, blowing a stray strand of black hair away from her face. She didn't have time for this.

Grabbing her coffee, she half-crawled, half-jogged her way up the stairs and into her bedroom.

When they'd moved into this house, she'd made sure her room had the biggest window and the lightest curtains; the sun was able to shine in and wake her up easily in the spring and summer months. She kind of regretted her past self's decision, but it was still useful.

Taking a big sip of her coffee, she winced slightly at the bitter taste. Setting it down on the bedside table she turned on her iPod, glad there wasn't anyone in the house, so she didn't have to worry about waking people up with the loud music.

"Now," she said out loud, turning to face her wardrobe, "what to wear? Black, green, or black and green?"

* * *

Half an hour later and she was waiting impatiently on the white leather couch, every so often checking the time on her phone. It didn't matter that it was still too early, for the longest time it had been one of Peridot's fears that one day, Lapis wouldn't show up to walk to school with her.

The ring of the doorbell jolted her out of her mind and she startled slightly, smoothing down her hair, making sure everything was turned off one final time, grabbed her bag and opened the door. Lapis greeted her with a raised eyebrow, finger poised at the doorbell.

"Eager much?" she asked.

"Shut up," Peridot teased, locking the door and setting off along the path with Lapis.

"Which way – beach or boardwalk?"

Peridot considered the question for a moment before concluding, "Beach."

Taking off their shoes and socks, they headed down to the beach and chatted about everything and nothing.

It wasn't called Beach City for nothing, Peridot thought as she watched Lapis stroll close to the water, taking every opportunity to dip her feet in the ocean. The beach was the prettiest part of the town, drawing the most attention and pretty much stealing the show. And it was worth it, it really was.

Early in the morning the sun hadn't quite risen to full potential, so the sand glowed a dull, pale golden colour, and the sea was pale blue, dream-like. On mornings such as this one, late-spring/early-summer mornings, there were still traces of fog hovering on the ground around their ankles, and the sea was still sharp and slightly cold, bitter. Just warm enough to feel the waves lap at your feet though.

Peridot closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, taking in the smell of sea salt and coffee and the fresh batch of donuts being made nearby, the perfume Lapis was wearing (something to do with grapefruit and flowers, bitter and sweet at the same time) and the smell of summer approaching in the wind. She curled her toes in the sand, until the grains covered the black nail polish on her toenails. It was mornings like these she couldn't help but feel lucky to live in Beach City. Even if she did have to get up early, even if they had the country's smallest high school (well, probably). Even if Jasper was a fucking dickhead and a –

Her eyes snapped open to find Lapis standing a few feet back, staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Let's go," Peridot said, quickening her pace across the sand. Lapis followed after her, chuckling.

"Weirdo," she muttered, running to catch up with Peridot.

"So, we have history today, right? How's your partner, The Incredible Jock?" Lapis asked as they sat on the small wall that lead to the main road, the small shopping centre, and the high school, washing the sand off their feet with the showers.

"Just as imposing, loud and annoying as I thought – except she's worse when you actually have to spend time with her," Peridot quipped, drying her feet and slipping on her shoes and boots once again.

"Have you ever considered you're being too harsh?"

Peridot started to laugh, until she realised Lapis was being serious. She straightened the hem of her black skirt uncomfortably, until it was resting a suitable length above her knees.

"Of course not," she snapped. "Come on, Lapis, this _is_ Jasper we're talking about. She pushed you into a locker, remember? Like, literally inside a locker."

"It was an accident." Lapis rubbed the back of her neck bashfully.

"Whatever," Peridot grumbled. Lapis laughed, slinging a brown arm around her shoulder as they continued their walk to school. They passed few cars on the road – being so small a school, most students lived in Beach City already so they walked, and hardly any got a lift. In the mornings, the road was quiet.

"Anyway, let's not talk about that. You better be coming to see the final swim meet of the season. I'm swimming the 100m backstroke and I'm in the relay."

"All celebratory of course?" Peridot teased.

"You know me, I always back down from competition," Lapis said sarcastically, removing her arm from Peridot's shoulder and casually linking her fingers, stretching her arms out in front of each other. Peridot tried to ignore the small burn that she felt where Lapis had been touching her. Usually she managed to keep a grip, but this small crush was rather irritating.

 _Not a crush_ , Peridot reminded herself. _I love Lapis platonically. She's just my friend – my best friend._

"But seriously," Lapis continued, "it is gonna be sad as hell. After all, the best captain they've ever had is leaving." She flashed a grin.

"Don't you mean their most egotistical captain?" Peridot asked. As they approached the road that led to school, she felt that sinking feeling in her chest she got whenever she approached school. She only had one class with Lapis, and that was history, which meant she had to spend it with Jasper. They didn't even have lunch together. Peridot would have to wait until the end of the day in order to see Lapis again.

She sighed. At least it was a Friday. That meant she had the whole weekend to hang out with Lapis in Beach City.

"Haha, very funny," Lapis said as they neared the school gates. "Anyway, I just know Kiki is gonna do a good job as captain once I'm gone. A position of leadership is just what she needs."

"Are you sure Jenny didn't threaten you to say all that?" Peridot asked.

Lapis laughed. Peridot loved her laugh, loud and free, like the waves crashing into the shore.

"Nah, they're two cool cats. Anyway, I'm holding out hope for my sister. She's gonna make a great captain."

"Sapphire's eleven years old, Lapis," Peridot said through her laughter.

Lapis waved a hand dismissively.

"Well, I'll see you at the end of the day. Try not to kill Jasper during first period, please." Lapis scooped Peridot up into a quick hug, whispering the last sentence in her ear. Peridot felt her friend's breath tickle her ear briefly, before she pulled away and was off, running through the halls like she was back on the beach. People parted to let her through. Peridot could barely get someone to move out her way even when she asked them directly. She was like an ant.

She stood there for a couple of minutes, lost in her thoughts, as she so often was lately.

The bell was about to go. She better get to homeroom.

Buttoning up her black blazer, she headed through the halls.

* * *

"So how come you've been ignoring all my texts, huh nerd?" Jasper whispered, or what would be a whisper if she wasn't utterly incapable of lowering her voice to a reasonable level.

Peridot sighed. History had gotten off to a brilliant fucking start as usual.

Normally she'd be sitting by herself at the front, but Jasper had somehow managed to sit down next to her without being noticed. Peridot thought it extremely dumb to try and talk in secret when they were directly under the teacher's nose, but whatever. It wasn't as if Jasper understood logic at all.

She did her best to ignore Jasper poking her in the side with a pen, and tried to concentrate on what Mr. Lewis was saying. Finally, he gave them time to talk with their partners about the project, settling down to read a book on the Russian military with his headphones in.

From across the room, Lapis flashed her a sympathetic smile. She had been partnered with Sadie, and Peridot felt a stab of envy. Sadie was so _organised_.

"If you would be so kind as to stop staring at your little mermaid girlfriend, maybe we could actually get some work done!" Jasper's voice cut into Peridot's fantasy featuring highlighted notes, colour-coded folders, and an A+.

"As if you're not the problem half the time," Peridot muttered, turning back to Jasper reluctantly, before she realised what the jock had said.

"Ha! So she is your girlfriend!" Jasper said, with a cruel smile. However, it wasn't glee shown on her face; it was … something else entirely. Something unreadable.

"That's not what I said!" Peridot snapped.

"So is she your girlfriend or not?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"No! Now, back to the project!" Peridot practically yelled, feeling as if she was about to tear her hair out.

Jasper laughed, fanning her face and holding her platinum blonde hair away from her neck.

"Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me? Jesus Christ, Mother Nature, I could practically fry a fucking egg on your face!"

"Language, Miss Keeley," Mr. Lewis said.

Jasper gaped at him. "He has his headphones on," she said in amazement.

" _Anyway_ ," Peridot said, "why did you call me Mother Nature? Running out of nicknames?" Peridot asked, abandoning her attempt at trying to draw Jasper's attention to their project.

"I'm just getting started, sweetheart," Jasper said, "and it's because you wear green all the time and shit."

Peridot fumed. "Green has certain cultural significance to me, thank you very much! And besides …" She struggled to think of a retort. "You're always wearing orange – what are you, a Cheeto?"

Jasper laughed, almost crying with mirth. "If I'm the Cheeto, you're the Dorito, squirt," she said, using her pen to flick the collar of Peridot's green blouse. Peridot frowned and straightened it.

"Dorito?" she questioned.

Jasper leaned in close. "Guacamole flavour."

A small giggle escaped Peridot's lips before she could help herself. Jasper smiled at her, something different in her eyes.

Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "You're Japanese, right?"

"Half," Peridot corrected, slightly confused as to why Jasper had changed the topic to this, "but I never knew my parents. My adopted dad is Japanese though, and he raised me in our culture."

Jasper nodded. "Uh, sorry if what I said offended you or some shit," she said in a low voice. "I know a lot of people like to make me out to be this dumb jock bully, but I'm not, y'know. I can draw, and shit, and I … Well, I'm sorry, I guess. Yeah.

"I guess what I wanna say is that I'm not like the rest of those bullies who bother you or anyone else, and I don't wanna be. I'm just tough. But different."

Peridot simply stared at her. It was probably the most she'd ever heard Jasper say.

"A maverick," she said quietly.

Jasper simply stared at her.

"Yeah. Maverick."

There was a slightly awkward pause in which they both stared at each other. Peridot bet that she didn't even breathe in those few seconds she spent looking into Jasper's eyes.

"I don't want anyone thinking that I'm soft, got it?" Jasper said, her usual tough bravado back as she pointed a finger at Peridot menacingly, and all of a sudden Peridot was reminded of all that she hated about Jasper.

Peridot batted the accusing finger away. "Got it," she muttered, opening her notepad.

"Now, about our project - " Peridot said.

"I have an idea!" Jasper exclaimed proudly. Peridot stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Then why didn't you text me?" she asked.

Jasper scoffed. "That's what I've been _trying_ to tell you, but you've been ignoring me."

Peridot blushed slightly. "Well, uh … Just tell me what it is," she finally said, sighing and resigning herself.

"Let's do one of the myths."

Peridot blinked. "That's it?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "You got anything better?"

"Yeah, but … " Peridot tugged on the sleeves of her blazer. "That's _it_? I thought the way you were hyping it up it was gonna be something a little more … substantial."

"Well, I've done most of the work, now it's your turn to start pulling your weight around here, shorty."

Peridot huffed.

"Come on," Jasper insisted, "it's not like it's hard. What's your favourite Greek myth?" she asked.

Peridot thought for a bit. Truth be told, she'd never considered it. "Uh … I guess Pandora's Box, maybe?"

Jasper clapped her hands together, causing Peridot to jolt. "Well, it's settled then. We'll do our project on that. Give me until Monday, and I'll come up with another stellar idea, I'm sure."

"Totally," Peridot agreed sarcastically. "And we can't talk about it now because … "

"Because class is ending, duh," Jasper said with a chuckle, standing up. Peridot looked around her, shocked.

"And I thought you were supposed to be observant, nerd," Jasper commented as Peridot hurried to pack all her stuff away before the bell went.

"Fight me," Peridot muttered as she stood up.

She regretted it instantly as Jasper loomed over her. The jock was 5'9", and Peridot stood at a measly 5'5".

"Yeah, I didn't think so either," Jasper chuckled as the bell went.

"I'll text you, yeah?" she called out over the crowd of students chattering as they exited the classroom and entered the halls.

She leaned in close, so close their faces were almost touching. "And this time, try not to ignore me."

Like before with Lapis, she could feel Jasper's warm breath on her skin. Unlike before with Lapis, she didn't feel butterflies in her stomach. No, this time it was simple, unadulterated, inescapable …

Then Jasper was gone, lost in the crowd, and Peridot completely forgot the fleeting feeling she'd had just a moment ago.

She headed into the horde, keeping her head down, thinking about Pandora's box, and how, like Jasper, it held numerable horrors.

She ignored the voice in her head telling her that underneath all the darkness, Pandora's box held light, hope, kindness.

She pushed it to the back of her mind, to belong with her crush on Lapis and the way her father was never home.

She had more important things to think about.

* * *

 _a/n:_ _hoLY MOLY IT'S DONE AT LAST_

 _i have so much to say about this chapter omg_

 _so finally lapis appears_

 _and poor peridork is smitten (also she and jasper are like the definition of no homo in this chapter lmao)_

 _i'm surprised i managed to fit as many references into this chapter as i could lmao_

 _like i said this chapter is longer, and i'm estimating the next will be longer probably as well_

 _jasper's surname is revealed huzzah! and they finally decided what to do their project on!_

 _we got introduced to a couple of other characters in this chapter, and a few names were dropped. next chapter you may see more showing up (and by more i mean garnet, amethyst, pearl, jenny, buck & sour cream & maybe steven)_

 _as for green being culturally significant to peridot, in japan green can signify eternal life. on may 4th, japan celebrates midori no hi, or greenery day. that date, while not mentioned yet in the story, is also peridot's birthday (we will get to see that, though). on greenery day, they celebrate their gratitude for nature's bounties and spiritual enrichment through appreciation and enjoyment of nature. so green is kinda special to peridot._

 _after that useless information dump, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, PLEASE leave a comment telling me what you think._

 _next chapter will probably be next month, though i'm hoping to get it up soon!_


	3. In Which Jasper Has a Bias For Blondie

_a/n: lmao sorry for longer than usual wait but i had a load of tests to focus on_

 _but i literally wrote and edited all of this today so i hope you guys enjoy it a lot!_

* * *

"Do you wanna hang out this weekend?" Lapis asked as they made their way towards the Boardwalk. As their tradition was, if they walked to school along the beach, then they walked back along the Boardwalk, and vice versa. Lapis counted the spare change she had in her pocket, silver and copper glinting in the sunlight that was shining over Beach City. Although spring was still here, Peridot could feel summer approaching quickly.

She scrunched up her nose in response to Lapis. "I'm not very good at what constitutes as 'hanging out'," she says, "and besides, aren't we already hanging out this weekend? I'm still sleeping over tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, of course, it's just tomorrow a few of us are meeting up at Fish Stew Pizza and then seeing where life takes us ... meaning we'll walk along the Boardwalk a bit and then end up chilling at the Big Donut, probably, but still. It'll be fun," Lapis pleaded.

Peridot narrowed her eyes. "And by a few of us, you mean ..."

"Me, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream," Lapis listed, counting the number of people off on her fingers as she spoke. Peridot groaned inwardly as the amount of people going grew.

"So basically, it's happy couple land while us two single mooks sit there being jealous?" Peridot asked. She raised an eyebrow at Lapis, who suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable. She brushed it off, though.

"It's not just us! Amethyst will be there too!" Lapis protested.

"My favourite person," she said sarcastically. "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to pass."

She could practically feel Lapis pouting at her back as she stalked ahead onto the Boardwalk.

She sighed, schooling her features into a more sympathetic expression. She couldn't resist her best friend for too long.

"Fine," she said, drawing out the 'i'. It was worth it, however, to feel Lapis' arms wrapping around her in a tight, quick hug. As her friend pulled away, she tried to control the blush spreading across her face and the rate of her heartbeat, which had suddenly decided to do its best impression of the drums at the beginning of Daft Punk's 'Robot Rock'.

"Great! Trust me, you won't regret it! I know you don't like Amethyst, but she can be so funny, and so is Garnet, and Pearl's really nice, and …"

Peridot smiled to herself, letting her friend ramble on as they walked together along the Boardwalk, arms linked. Just for this one moment, she could forget everything and just focus, feel what was important: the sun shining down on them, the crash of the waves in the background, the smell of junk food cooking, and the feel of Lapis' bare arm touching hers.

(True, there were two layers of clothing separating her bare skin from her friend's, but she'd take what she could get.)

She checked to see if Lapis was still talking before she spoke, "What do you wanna get, Fry Bits or donuts?"

Lapis thought for a moment. "How about ice cream?"

Peridot pulled a face, shivering instinctively. "Isn't it still a little cold for that?"

Lapis laughed. "It's never not the time for ice cream, Peridot! Now come on, what flavour do you want?"

She pulled Peridot towards Beth's Ice Cream, staring at the abundant amount of flavours the parlour had.

Peridot smiled and resigned herself to being dragged around by Lapis for the rest of her life.

"Do you even need to ask?" Peridot chuckled, taking a seat in one of the booths, sighing in satisfaction as she settled down on the pale pink material.

Lapis smiled at her, "Green tea it is then."

She walked up to the counter, and Peridot did her best not to watch her go. She shrugged her shoulders back, trying to relax, when something she spotted outside the window made her tense up all over again.

It was Jasper. She cursed inwardly and hoped the jock couldn't see her from her standpoint on the Boardwalk.

Jasper was standing with a few of her jock friends, football players by the looks of them, laughing at whatever it is athletes laugh about.

 _I bet one of them is her boyfriend_ **.**

Peridot froze. Where the fuck had that thought come from? She'd never thought about Jasper dating before. She just assumed it was one of those things that happened and that she didn't have to think about, like Calculus homework or detention.

"Peridot? Hey, Peridot!" Lapis' voice dragged her out of her mind, and when she looked up again, Jasper and her friends had gone.

"Are you okay?" Lapis asked, sitting down. "I ordered the sundaes, if you don't mind."

Peridot desperately tried to push all thoughts and images of Jasper to the back of her mind.

"Yeah, that's cool, you know they're my favourite," she said in an unusually quiet voice. She berated herself mentally; Lapis was bound to know something was up.

She was surprised to find, however, that Lapis merely shrugged, and they settled into a comfortable silence as the waitress brought over their sundaes. She wasn't surprised though that Lapis had got the Blue Moon flavour. She smirked. They were both so predictable.

"So, I hope you stayed true to your promise and didn't try to kill Jasper," Lapis said, scooping up another huge helping of blue ice cream onto her spoon.

"What? Jasper? I haven't seen Jasper!" Peridot exclaimed, nearly dropping her own spoon of ice cream onto the pristine white table top.

Lapis stared at her, an unreadable yet unamused expression on her face.

Peridot sighed, deciding to ignore her outburst and hope that Lapis would do the same.

"Technically, I didn't promise anything."

Lapis raised an eyebrow in warning. Peridot sighed again, finding that she did that an awful lot around Lapis.

"And no, I didn't kill her," she completed her sentence, a pleased smile appearing on Lapis' face as she did.

"I knew you wouldn't do it!" she said gleefully. "Come on, deep down, she's actually a nice person."

Peridot snorted. "Yeah, deep down. Sure thing, Lapis. Whatever you say."

As she was teasing, she couldn't help but feel guilt rising in her as she thought of the way Jasper had acted when she thought she'd offended Peridot in history. Maybe there was some truth to what Lapis was saying after all.

"Peridot! That's like the fourth time you've zoned out on me! What is up with you?"

Peridot sighed in frustration, running a hand through her hair. It wasn't as if she wanted to ignore Lapis in favour of thinking about Jasper, it's just that her mind liked playing fucked up games with her.

"She's really getting to you, isn't she?" Lapis asked softly, as always knowing what Peridot was really thinking of.

Peridot couldn't deny it. She nodded her head, once, biting her lip.

"Yeah, she is."

* * *

Peridot huffed as she finally got the door to unlock, stuffing her keys back into the pocket of her bag. That damn door was seriously testing her patience. Too bad her dad was never home to fix it.

She was prepared to drag her stuff upstairs as she usually did on a Friday night before going downstairs to prepare dinner, but was shocked to hear a voice she wasn't expecting to hear, especially not at this time in the evening.

"Peridot?" her dad called from the kitchen. She froze as he wandered out into the hallway, sweeping her into a tight hug before staring at her expectantly.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she finally said.

 _Open mouth; insert foot, Peri_ , a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Jasper sniggered. She desperately wished someone would just slap her right now and get rid of the embarrassment.

Her dad, however, paid no mind to her social awkwardness.

"They've decided to let me off early, so I thought I'd come home and spend some time with you, make you dinner, all that stuff dads are supposed to do."

Peridot smiled weakly. As much as she loved having her dad home, they never let him off work early unless there was some underlying motive. Usually her dad wasn't home until at least ten at night. Having him home around six was just baffling. She couldn't actually recall a time when this had happened before, except for when she was very young.

She let herself be led into the kitchen, inhaling deep the smells of her childhood.

"Yakitori and Tempura prawns?" she said gleefully, her foul mood from walking home dispelled at the thought of her childhood comfort food.

"I'm not totally useless," her dad said with a laugh. "Now, I have big news about the company: your job position in the technical department has been secured! You start in August."

Peridot grinned, letting herself be wrapped up in another hug. Working with computers had always been her dream, and her dad had always encouraged her. Plus, the company was highly reputable and paid good money. It felt like, slowly, things were starting to look up.

"Thank you," she whispered.

As she got the bottle of Metsuya Cider out the fridge, she cautiously asked, "So, does this mean you'll be here the entire weekend?"

She could feel her good mood slipping away as her dad shook his head. "I leave for a very big business conference in Tokyo on Sunday, and I won't be back until Wednesday. I'm sorry."

Peridot tried to cling on to her good mood, offering her dad a smile. "It's okay. We can spend Saturday evening together; watch a movie, just like we did when I was young."

She mentally apologised to Lapis, promising to call her after dinner and reschedule their sleepover for next week.

Peridot's dad grinned as he placed his hands on her shoulders looking her in the eye. She felt a bit like she was being scrutinised, but not in a bad way.

"Peridot Akiyama, you have grown into a fine young woman. Don't ever forget that I love you," her father said. Peridot squirmed under the attention and laughed, trying to pretend what she was feeling was discomfort and not joy.

"I love you too, dad, God," she complained jokingly as he kept hugging her.

Thankfully, she was saved by the smell of chicken and the sound of her dad swearing in Japanese.

"Shit! My chicken!" He exclaimed letting go of Peridot and rushing over to attend to the grill.

Peridot chuckled and smiled, going back to pouring her drink and making the most of her time with her dad.

* * *

"I think you need to have a more positive outlook on these kinds of social situations," Lapis casually yelled from further along the stretch of sand.

"I think you need to fuck off," Peridot grumpily replied, sifting through the large pile of shells Lapis had recently deposited on her towel.

It was midday, and they were at the beach, collecting shells (Lapis' decision of course). Peridot thought it was way too early for this – after all, they weren't due to meet up with their friends (though Peridot wouldn't really call them her friends, merely acquaintances) until quarter past one. Still, Lapis had insisted that this was the best time for collecting shells, though Peridot had no idea where she'd got that idea.

 _Probably pulled it out her ass_ , Peridot thought with a smirk.

"There's no need to get rude, is there?" Lapis said snootily, making her way back over to where they'd set up camp. Her long brown hair was in a French braid and she was wearing a blue crop top and black bikini bottoms. Peridot swallowed nervously and tried to stare anywhere but up at her friend.

Lapis threw herself down with a sigh, picking up a scallop shell and tossing it back into the water when she discovered it was cracked.

Lapis breathed in the salty air, stretching. "See, this is what you need in your life, Peridot: a lot more fresh air and exercise."

"You sound like your mother," Peridot commented.

"And what's wrong with that?" Lapis smirked, tugging gently at the black bows adorned at the sides of Peridot's green leaf-patterned bikini bottoms.

Peridot slapped her hand away. "Nothing, your mother is a very lovely lady," she said, trying to hold in her laughter.

"And don't you forget it," Lapis said, brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. "Anyway, just relax, be yourself, and try not to murder Amethyst."

"I can't make any promises," Peridot said in a monotone, adjusting her black tank top before going back to looking at whatever else Lapis had picked up from her beach crawl.

She thought as she worked. Although she wasn't really that anxious about hanging out, there was a part of her that considered Lapis' words a comfort. After all, although she was in the same year as most of the people going, she had never really talked to them outside of any classes. They all seemed to stick to their own circles. And Peridot had done too – after all, it was her and Lapis against the world. But now, as they grew older, Lapis was starting to breach into other social circles. Peridot didn't really mind, she just wanted to make sure Lapis still cared about her.

"Hey." She got her best friend's attention, holding up a smooth, round, large piece of limestone for her to see. It glinted in the sunlight, obscuring her view of Lapis slightly.

"Best friends, right?" she asked lightly, though the unspoken words that came after the sentence were visible in her eyes. Lapis took the limestone from her.

"Of course you nerd," she said, chucking a can of Pepsi to Peridot, who only just caught it before it hit her face.

"You have terrible taste in drinks," she said as she opened it and took a large gulp.

"At least I'm not - " Whatever insult Lapis had creatively come up with was lost as a shout interrupted them.

"Yo, Lapis, Peridot!" Jenny yelled from the Boardwalk, as Sour Cream and Buck tried to push each other off into the sand below. As Lapis waved at her, Peridot watched as Buck succeeded at unbalancing his boyfriend; however at the last minute Sour Cream managed to get a grip on him and pull both of them down, as Jenny shook her head at their antics.

"You coming?" Lapis asked. She'd pulled on denim shorts and was holding her silver sandals in one hand and her beach bag in the other.

Peridot gathered up her own stuff, pulling on her khaki-patterned shorts and squaring her shoulders.

"It's show time," she muttered to herself, as they began their walk towards the triad, Peridot's heart practically leaping into her throat.

Lapis liked these people; she didn't want to make a bad impression, though that was exactly what she was most likely to do.

However, all her worry faded away when she saw the logo on Jenny's beach bag.

"Is that the 4minute logo?" she asked, trying to contain her excitement, while pointing to the bag.

"Hmm?" Jenny looked down, before laughing slightly. "This is Sour Cream's bag. I'm just borrowing it."

"Wait, _you're_ the one who took my 4minute bag?" Sour Cream asked, briefly distracted from trying to push Buck back into the sand while simultaneously brushing the sand off his own body. He shook his head one final time and stood up. "I thought that was lost somewhere in my room!"

Jenny giggled. "Okay, borrowed without asking then."

"You like them?" Peridot asked hopefully, turning to Sour Cream.

He smiled at her. "I like all kinds of music."

"It's true. It's hard to find a band he doesn't like," Buck chimed in.

"Makes buying him presents a hell of a lot easier," Jenny commented, and the group laughed, Peridot starting to feel more relaxed. Lapis throwing her a quick wink and a smile didn't hinder her much either.

She'd seen the so-called "Cool Kids" around school before, and even worked on a couple of projects with Buck, but she didn't really know much about the other than that they were dating. If she'd known Sour Cream liked the same music as her, she probably would have made an effort a lot sooner.

"See, this is why you have a more positive view like I said," Lapis muttered to her as they finished cleaning the sand off of themselves and started to make their way towards Fish Stew Pizza.

"Didn't I say something about fucking off?" Peridot teased, as the door chimed open and they made their way in. As Lapis went over to say hello to Kiki, she felt a tug on her arm. It was Jenny.

"I know you're a music fan, so come see the latest thing they've done to the place. I think you're gonna love it."

She pulled her over to the corner of the shop, where a colourful, obnoxious machine stood proudly.

Her jaw practically dropped. "Is that a jukebox?"

"That was my reaction too," Sour Cream commented, leaning up against it, before Jenny swatted him away.

"Hands off, mister! I didn't spend three months begging my dad to get this only for some lanky teenager to break it!"

Sour Cream pouted. "Your words bruise me, sweetheart."

Buck swung an arm around his shoulders and pecked Jenny on the cheek. "I'll buy half your pizza to make up for it."

"That doesn't mean you get to eat half my pizza, Buck."

"That was one time, dude."

Peridot tuned out their banter just as the bell above the door chimed again, signalling the arrival of more people.

Garnet, with her sunglasses still on (much like Buck) and her arm slung around Pearl, who looked like a ballerina as usual. Amethyst slouched along beside them, already drinking from a can of Coke.

Peridot sniffed. At least her taste in drink was better than Lapis'.

"Amethyst, you can't drink externally produced products in here!" Jenny exclaimed, swiping the can out of the shorter girl's hands and taking a sip of it herself.

"Oh yeah, and you can?"

"I work here!" Jenny said gleefully, as she and Amethyst continued to argue.

Peridot stood still awkwardly, wondering where Lapis had got to and what the earliest time she could convince her to leave at was. Suddenly the appearance of more people had made the situation infinitely worse for her.

"Oh, Peridot, I didn't know you were going to be here," Pearl's voice said, and Peridot felt glad to be dragged into a conversation, even if it was with someone she didn't know very well.

"Yeah, Lapis invited me, and then she dragged me along despite whatever I had to say about it," Peridot said with a slight chuckle as they sat down in the booth Buck and Sour Cream had chosen, trusting Jenny, Amethyst, and Lapis to order for them.

"I know that feeling," Garnet said softly, gazing at Pearl, and even with the sunglasses, Peridot could see how much they adored each other.

She blushed, saying, "Oh no, it's not like that, um, we're not dating like you guys – uh, at least I think you're dating?" She scrambled for words, and Pearl giggled.

"It's fine, and yes, we are dating."

"Almost a year now," Garnet commented, and Pearl nodded.

Peridot sneaks a furtive look at Lapis, and turns back, surprised to find Garnet staring as well.

"You should go for it," Garnet said, and Peridot gaped.

"I don't - "

"I don't know …" Pearl said sceptically.

"What do you remember?" Sour Cream asked.

"What?" Peridot said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot the two of you were a thing!" Buck said.

"Wait, what? Lapis never told me about this," Peridot exclaimed, feeling hurt that her best friend had kept something from her.

"It was for six months during Freshman year. Not many people knew," Pearl says, and from the slightly bitter tone laced in her voice Peridot can gather that their relationship didn't end well.

She was still hung up on the fact that Lapis never told her.

"But some people did know," she said in a small voice, and Sour Cream placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's rough," he commented.

"It's not like that," she protested, and then paused. "But yes, it's rough."

"You should ask her about it, at least," Garnet says.

"Ask who about what?" Amethyst asks, bounding over with Lapis following slightly behind, a smile on her face. Peridot swears you could hear a pin drop in the brief but encompassing silence that overcomes the group.

"Ask Lapis why she thinks Pepsi is even remotely good when Coke exists," Peridot quickly says.

"Aw hell yeah!" Amethyst replies, holding out her hand for a high five. Peridot complies cautiously, a bemused smile on her face. "Coke forever."

"You're all just rude."" Lapis huffs squeezing in next to Peridot; their skin brushes each other's. When Lapis isn't looking, Buck gives her a covert thumbs up.

She scowls. This booth isn't big enough for nine people.

Jenny brings the pizzas over and they eat, the conversation flowing easily, even for Peridot. Someone puts on the jukebox, and it plays a mixture of old and modern songs, Bon Jovi followed by Nicki Minaj, and they jokingly sing along to the words that they know.

Customers come and go, but their group stays for at least two hours, drinking and eating and laughing and arguing about whether they want to go to the Big Donut or stay here for dessert. Peridot sighs, her stomach full and satisfied by pizza and the three lemonades she's drunk. The atmosphere is light and Peridot found that she actually enjoyed spending time with these people.

Even Amethyst wasn't as bad as she thought, and they got into a heated debate against Pearl and Jenny on the subject of onion rings versus mozzarella sticks. She only realised after about an hour of hanging out that Amethyst was actually held back a year and was supposed to be a Senior, not a Junior, like Jenny's sister Kiki, though she knew that was because of illness. She didn't want to seem rude and ask about it, so she just ignored it, choosing instead to talk to Sour Cream about the music he made.

The bell chimed once again, and though she usually ignored whoever came in, Garnet's reaction of slamming her glass of juice down on the table made her jump, and she turned round, a lump in her throat forming as she realised who it was. No one else in Beach City had that much blonde hair.

"Jasper," Garnet growled under her breath darkly.

Pearl placed a comforting hand over Garnet's.

"Do you want me to go over there, darling?" she asked, keeping her voice low. The other conversations going on in the group trailed to a stop as they chose to instead listen to Garnet and Pearl. Peridot tried desperately to keep her head down while not looking suspicious, and to avoid Lapis' insistent stare.

"Just leave her, she's not worth it, Garnet," Amethyst said casually, and Peridot could tell she didn't really care that much about whatever internalised drama Garnet and Pearl were having.

Peridot realised this was the second time she'd seen Jasper in less than 24 hours, and it was really getting on her nerves. For some reason, she couldn't keep the blonde athlete off her mind, even when she was with other people, and now she was fucking _following_ her. Just _perfect_.

"She'll listen to Peridot," Lapis said suddenly, interrupting the hushed debate/argument Garnet and Pearl appeared to be having. Everyone swivelled round to stare at Peridot and she avoided their stares, choosing instead to glare at Lapis.

"She can tell her to leave?" Pearl asked.

Lapis nodded. Peridot bunched her hands into fists.

"I have had enough of this," she murmured.

"What?" Lapis said.

"Move out my way, Lapis," Peridot said, shifting over and trying to hurry up the process.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said even as she moved to let Peridot out the booth.

She straightened her top, making sure her bikini top wasn't showing, adjusted her shorts, and, eyes narrowing determinedly, made her way over to where Jasper was leaning against the counter, clearly waiting for a takeout order as she sipped from a bottle of Pepsi. Peridot scoffed at the drink choice.

"Oh hey, shortbus," Jasper said casually, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head and grinning at her. Peridot scowled at her and tried to ignore the feeling that everyone back at the booth was watching her.

"Why are you doing this, Jasper?" she asked, one hand on her hip, the other resting on the counter. She tried to ignore the very pressing reality of the way Jasper's hand was so, so close to her own.

"What do you mean? I'm just getting my pizza," Jasper said, every word she spoke making Peridot want to punch something (preferably Jasper's face).

Jasper turned and looked at the jukebox. "Sweet," she said, wandering over and flicking through the song choices.

"You know what I mean! Yesterday at the Boardwalk, and now today in the restaurant! You're following me!" Peridot said, throwing her arms up in the air and hoping her voice wasn't loud enough to carry back to the booth her friends were in at the other end of Fish Stew Pizza.

"I didn't even see you yesterday at the Boardwalk!" Jasper protested. Finally, she chose a song, and Peridot groaned as she heard the familiar guitar opening. She heard Sour Cream yell in joy.

She massaged her temple with two fingers. He brain really couldn't handle this.

"'One Way or Another'? Really, Jasper?" she said.

Jasper shrugged, allowing a small grin to escape past her cool persona.

"It's a good song. I love Blondie. And besides, I thought it was kinda fitting. You seem pretty paranoid."

"Look, Jasper, my friends want you to leave," Peridot says bluntly, and Jasper stares at her. It's one of the only times she's seen the jock lost for words.

"I'm just getting my pizza, God. Can't I catch a fucking break?" she exclaims, glancing over to the booth Peridot's friends are sat in. Her expressions clouds over when she sees who is sat there.

"You mean Garnet and Pearl want me to leave." She guesses correctly.

Peridot blinks. "Yes, actually - "

"Well, fuck them," Jasper says extra loudly, to make sure they can hear her at the back, "I am not doing anything wrong!"

"Shh!" Peridot says, placing her hand on Jasper's arm.

"Well, I mean, you are drinking Pepsi," Peridot adds before she can stop herself.

"Actually, I drink both Pepsi and Coke, so fuck you," Jasper says with a laugh, and Peridot finds herself laughing along. Afterwards, they are left in silence, Peridot still immensely aware of her hand of Jasper's arm, and the way they seem to kind of fit together. It's not like touching Lapis, when she gets butterflies in her stomach and knots in her tongue. It just feels sort of … right.

"Careful, Peri," Jasper says in a low voice, that Peridot finds slightly enticing, "I don't think your girlfriend will be too happy with you."

"She's not my girlfriend, for fuck's sake!" she exclaims, glaring at Jasper, who almost steps back warily.

"Seems like I've blown a fuse," she comments gently.

"Anyway," Peridot tries to swiftly move the conversation along. "They want you to leave and - "

"Hey Peridot!" Jenny calls, and Peridot turns around, quickly removing her hand from Jasper's arm like she was touching burning hot coals.

Jenny raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment. Peridot notices that everyone else is stood outside, Garnet somewhat moodily.

"We're going to the Big Donut, you comin'?"

Peridot turns again to glance at Jasper; she has no idea why. It's just there's something in the blonde's eyes that she can't decipher.

Kiki emerges carrying Jasper's takeaway box just then, and Peridot's never felt so relieved. She knows that Jasper can see it too, as she turns around angrily, ignoring Peridot's glances.

"Here's your pizza, Jasper. Oh hey, Peridot, you want something else too?" Kiki asks. Peridot sighs.

"No thanks, I was just leaving," she says with a pointed glance at Jasper, who pretends not to notice and instead grabs her pizza.

"Yeah, me too," she says, before stalking out the door before Jenny and Peridot, ignoring the looks Pearl and Garnet are giving her.

Peridot sighs.

"You okay, honey?" Jenny asks.

"Mmhmm."

"Okay then," Jenny says in a way that suggests she doesn't quite believe Peridot, but chooses not to press the subject further.

Peridot follows her friends to the Big Donut, choosing not to contribute to the current conversations taking place.

She's not hungry anyway.

* * *

They exit the Big Donut around six, bidding a cheerful goodbye to Lars and Sadie, whose shift doesn't end until half past seven, with promises to catch up with them later on.

Peridot's mood has been improved slightly, although she's still not very happy with Lapis, and has resolved to question her about Pearl at a later date. Also, Jasper is still on her mind, and she can't erase the image of the look on Jasper's face as she stormed out Fish Stew Pizza. She looked angry, mostly, but Peridot almost thought she saw a flash of hurt on her face.

The group walked along the Boardwalk, enjoying the still warm evening air and making their way, inevitably, to behind Fish Stew Pizza, where Jenny's obnoxious car was parked. Peridot secretly thought it looked hideous, but the Cool Kids seemed to like it a lot, going on about all their memories in the car to Lapis and Peridot. Some of those memories were definitely _not_ what she wanted to imagine her new friends getting up to, and Jenny squealed, slapping her hands over her boyfriends' mouths whenever they got to a particularly risqué part.

Peridot sighed as the Cool Kids tried to figure out a seating arrangement that would allow the nine of them to fit into a five-seater car. She stared at the view she had of the beach showers, not too far away, noticing what seemed like a group of people staring down at the beach before quickly moving on.

"Okay everyone! We're going to go up to the warehouse, see if anything cool is going on," Jenny said.

Peridot had heard tales of the warehouse, everyone in their school had, though few had actually been there. Apparently some of the best parties were held there, with Sour Cream, among others, creating the best music. She'd never been, though.

She checked the time on her phone, and realises she still has time, although he won't be able to stay for long. She needs to get back to her dad soon. Tonight, he was making sashimi.

Lapis turned to flash a grin at her, and Peridot smiled back, trying to look natural.

"So, the seating arrangement is: I'm driving, Sour Cream sits on Buck's lap, Pearl sits on Garnet's lap, Peridot sits on Lapis' lap, and Amethyst … we don't really trust you with anyone. You're sitting by yourself."

Amethyst shrugged. "I'm cool with that."

"Isn't this exciting?" Lapis whispers to her as they try to execute Sour Cream's apparently 'fool proof' plan. "I've always wanted to go to the warehouse."

"Yeah," Peridot whispers back, once again distracted by the wall by the beach. She sees a masculine-looking figure striding up, seemingly arguing although his voice doesn't carry enough, followed by a familiar person.

"Jasper," Peridot whispers so quietly she might as well not have spoken. Guilt rises once again, pooling in her heart like a grenade about to go off, when she thinks about Jasper.

She watches as Jasper yells something at the boy before he stomps off. Jasper is left alone, sitting on the wall with her head in her hands, looking defeated for a brief moment. Then, she stands up and kicks over a nearby trashcan. Thankfully, it's empty.

"Peridot!" Lapis calls to her, already seated in the car and waiting expectantly for her. Everyone is staring at her.

She chances one last look at Jasper, who looks desolate, the setting sun framing her blonde hair like a halo.

 _How ironic_ , she thinks, lost in the image of Jasper sitting by herself.

She looks back at the car, at Lapis, staring at her with wide eyes, blue and innocent and beautiful, nothing like Jasper's hazel eyes which sparkle with playfulness.

She hesitantly places one hand on the edge of the car door, before she finally closes her eyes, breathes in once, and then opens them.

"Sorry, Lapis," she mutters, before turning around and running, away from her friends and towards Jasper, ignoring the yells of Amethyst and Pearl, and focusing instead on the way Jasper looks up as she approaches, and the way her bag hits the side of her leg every stride or so she makes, a constant twinge of pain.

"Why hello there Roadrunner," Jasper says, though her usual tough voice is slightly quieter and more melancholy, and with a start, as Peridot looks into those same hazel eyes she realises they are rimmed with red. Jasper's been crying.

(That, or smoking a lot of weed, which Peridot honestly wouldn't put past her.)

"Hey," Peridot says quietly, taking a seat on the wall next to Jasper.

They are silent for a moment, until Jasper speaks.

"Why are you doing this, Peridot?" she asks, repeating the other girl's own words from earlier.

Peridot smiles weakly. "I'm just … getting my pizza."

"So you think of me as pizza?" Jasper said, and they laughed together, Peridot subconsciously slightly leaning into Jasper's side. She drew away quickly, however.

"Was that guy - "

"It doesn't matter," Jasper said swiftly, which meant, of course, that it did matter, very much. "He was just saying shit about my mom. Nothing new."

"Do you want to come over tonight," Peridot blurted out quickly, not even making it a question. Jasper stared at her for a second.

"Sorry, I just thought - " Peridot's murmurs were cut off by Jasper's (surprisingly gentle) voice.

"No, it's okay. Go on."

"My dad is flying out to Tokyo tomorrow, and we're watching a movie, and he's making sashimi, which is raw fish and meat, and we're having miso soup and rice and …" Peridot trails off after a bit, noticing the way Jasper is staring at her – partly amused, partly something else.

"And you just seemed lonely," she finished, staring at Jasper bashfully.

"Sure," Jasper replies nonchalantly, and Peridot's jaw nearly drops to the floor. That was not the response she was expecting.

"My mom's working tonight, so I'd be home alone with baked beans on toast to keep me company. Your house sounds way better," Jasper explains, Peridot still staring at her with an expression of half-delight, half-surprise on her face.

"Okay," Peridot says when she can figure out how to speak once again.

"Okay." Jasper smirks.

"Okay!" Peridot stand sup abruptly, and Jasper follows her at a much more leisurely pace.

"I still think you're a dickhead," Peridot mumbles as Jasper walks by her side along the Boardwalk and towards the direction of Peridot's house.

"Yeah, the feeling is mutual, Mike Wazowski."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Yeah it does! You're both small and green!"

"That makes you Sully then!"

"I hate you."

"I hate you too."

As they continued to bicker as they walked, deep inside, they both knew that they were lying.

* * *

 _a/n: i have so much to say about this chapter it's actually unreal, but you guys should totally review and tell me about what you think :)_


	4. The Jasper Who Came to Tea

_a/n:_ _i would like to formally apologise about not updating sooner :/ life is hectic for me, but i'm on holiday at the moment so yay ^.^_

 _i had a really bad case of writer's block the past few weeks but now i'm really inspired so hopefully i might be updating tomorrow or thursday. who knows?_

 _enjoy this super-gay chapter :D_

 _(1000 points to anyone who gets peridot's dad's joke)_

* * *

"Before we go in, I wanna warn you about my dad. He can be a little bit … much to deal with the first time you meet him."

Peridot almost scoffed at the way she said 'first time'. As if there would be a second time. She'd had one moment of weakness, and Jasper seemed down. It wasn't as if they were suddenly going to become best friends or anything.

(Thinking of best friends made her think of Lapis, sitting alone in the car with the door open, waiting for Peridot. She felt a pang of guilt, quickly followed by a flash of anger and betrayal. Lapis had kept an important part of her life from Peridot, and she wasn't going to forget that any time soon.)

Jasper only smirked at her. "If he's anything like you, then I know I'll be able to manage it."

Peridot fiddled with her keys. "I think I'll take that as a compliment," she said as she opened the door.

The short walk to her house hadn't been as awkward as she expected it to be. Jasper didn't ask her about where everyone else had gone, and she in turn didn't ask her about … whatever it was that was going on in her life at the moment. Jasper seemed unnaturally subdued, and for all that Peridot insisted to herself she didn't care (and accounting the fact she was horrible in overly emotional situations), there was still a part of her that wanted to just ask Jasper if she was okay.

"Shoes off," Peridot mumbled, more to herself than to Jasper, as she toed off her own ones, turning around. She noticed that the other girl had already removed her shoes, and was wearing odd socks. One pink and one blue. She couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Jasper asked somewhat gruffly, peering at Peridot.

"Nothing." Peridot bit her lip, trying to prevent the large grin that was threatening to split her face open, revealing her true self.

"You know, I think this is only the second time I've ever seen you smile around me," Jasper said in a quiet voice as she followed Peridot into the living room.

"Well if you stick around maybe you'll get to see it more," she muttered, before she even had time to process what she was saying. They stared at each other for a few tense seconds, before they were interrupted.

"Peridot?" Her dad called from the kitchen. "Just give me a minute!"

He entered the room, and then stopped when he saw Jasper. "You're not Lapis," he commented.

"I have other friends, dad," Peridot grumbled, though they both knew she was lying.

"Well this is the first I've heard of that," he teased.

"This is Jasper Keeley. I know we were supposed to be hanging out together tonight, but is it okay if she stays for dinner?" Peridot asked, and her dad looked over at Jasper. His eyes flicked over her face, and she could tell he too was noticing the way her eyes were rimmed with red.

He smiled at the both of them. "Sure, we can still watch a movie if you want. I'm glad I made more food than we actually needed then. Now, Jasper, tell me about yourself. Peridot never brings anyone home so you must be something special …" he continued rambling as he led Jasper into the kitchen, where the smell of miso soup overwhelmed them.

Peridot groaned internally as her dad continued talking to Jasper like they had known each other for years.

"I don't think I'm that special, Mr Akiyama. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Jasper smirked at Peridot over her shoulder, and she rolled her eyes.

"This smells delicious. I wish I ate like this every day," Jasper commented.

"Ha," Peridot said, "I don't eat like this every day. Usually I'm living off microwave meals and energy drinks."

"Which you shouldn't be. Those infernal things are a disgrace to the art of cooking," Peridot's dad said as he ushered them out the room. "Go pick a movie. Make sure it's not got that awful egg man in it."

"Egg man?" Jasper questioned.

"He means Nicholas Cage." Peridot pulled a DVD off the shelves. "We're watching Iron Man. No complaints."

"You're dad's a riot. And I wouldn't dream of besmirching the great name of Anthony Edward Stark."

"That exactly what I like to hear."

Peridot settled down on the floor cushions, crossing her legs and staring at Jasper expectantly.

"Should I sit on the floor on the couch?" she asked.

"The floor, while we're eating. That's why the table is here, obviously," Peridot said. Jasper flopped down on the cushions somewhat cumbersomely, and she tries to get comfortable as Peridot's dad brought in the food, placing it down on the table and putting the disc in the DVD player.

He nodded at Peridot. "No egg man. Good choice. I knew I raised you well somehow."

Jasper snorted.

"Did you tell her the joke yet?" Peridot's dad asks as the previews flash across the screen.

"Chopsticks," Peridot murmurs as she tosses them to Jasper. "And no, I didn't."

"I know what they are," Jasper grumbles. "And what joke?"

"It's an awful joke," Peridot says, glaring at her dad, "and I don't think we should put Jasper through the pain of it."

"Nonsense, it's the best joke in the world. Okay, are you ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Peridot deadpans, waiting for the inevitable awkward silence that will come.

"My ex-wife still misses me … but her aim is getting better!"

What Peridot wasn't expecting was the warm chuckles that encompass the room as both her dad and Jasper laugh heartily. She groans. It figures the one person that laughed at her dad's terrible marriage jokes would be _Jasper_.

"I approve of this one. Bring her back round again, Peridot." Her dad finally says, and Peridot honestly can't believe she's actually alive right now.

"Yeah, bring me back round again, Dottie," Jasper comments with a smirk, and Peridot wishes she could sink into the floorboards right now.

"Shut up and eat your sashimi, Jasper," she says. She doesn't even have the energy to comment on the absolutely _horrible_ new nickname Jasper has thought up for her.

Jasper merely grins at her. Peridot rolls her eyes and decides to focus on the movie, ignoring the feeling in her heart that is telling her she is content just sitting her next to Jasper, their legs almost touching but not quite, only a tiny stretch of particles between them.

She tries to ignore it.

(She fails.)

* * *

Her dad refuses to let her do the dishes.

"Take Jasper upstairs. It's late, you should be going to bed," he says, balancing all the dishes on one arm.

"It's like half past eight, dad," Peridot says. "Besides, Jasper's not staying over."

"No, I can stay over," Jasper says nonchalantly, and Peridot curses under her breath.

"I heard that," her dad says, "and don't be so rude."

She turns to Jasper. "I can't believe you're ganging up against me with my dad. You're both traitors."

"Aww, we're sorry Peridot, please forgive us," Jasper flashes her a feral grin, and Peridot is reminded of a tiger in the wild, poised and ready to strike their prey. Peridot's feeling an awful lot like prey right now, and she doesn't even know why.

"You don't even have anything to wear."

Jasper shrugs. "I can make do."

Peridot wonders why Jasper is so desperate to hang out with her – after all, she was under the impression that she would be the _last_ person that Jasper would want to be with – but then an image flashes in her mind of Jasper with her cheeks still stained with tear-tracks.

Maybe this is what Jasper needs right now – sure, she could do without the thinly-veiled insults and God-awful nicknames but she's honestly surprised she isn't having a worse time.

She takes a deep breath. _Time to be brave and take one for the team, Peri_ , the voice that sounds like Jasper in her mind says.

"Fine, you can stay. You can borrow my sleeping bag."

"You're the best, Dottie," Jasper says.

"Anyway, I need to go to bed, as I'm leaving early in the morning for the airport. So try and keep the noise down, okay?" her dad says, and Peridot's heart sinks as she remembers her dad was leaving for Tokyo. Again.

"Have a safe flight," she says, giving him a quick hug. "I love you," she whispers in his ear.

"I love you too. Jasper, make sure doesn't get in too much trouble, while I'm gone, okay?"

"Yes sir!"

"I hate you both," Peridot bemoans, dragging Jasper upstairs by the wrist.

"Goodnight to you too," her dad calls after them as Jasper chuckles.

They get to Peridot's room and she instantly releases her hold on Jasper, but not without noting how warm her skin is, like a furnace.

"The bathroom is the first door on the left. I'm getting changed. Knock when you come back," she mutters, and closes the door on Jasper's smirking face.

Sighing, she leans her head back against the door, wondering how in hell she ended up with Jasper sleeping over at her house.

* * *

When Jasper gets back, Peridot can practically feel the shit-eating grin of her face boring into Peridot.

"Nice glasses," she remarks whilst sliding into the sleeping bag Peridot has laid out for her.

Peridot adjusts the position of the heavy black frames on her face and sniffs.

"Yeah, well, I had to fit the nerdy image even more, because apparently being half Asian wasn't enough," Peridot comments, tugging down the long sleeves of her green pyjama top over her hands, even though she knows it will stretch the material.

"Don't forget the braces," Jasper idly comments, getting her phone out. Peridot tries to ignore the fact that Jasper is wearing just a t-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs, and even though the sleeping bag is slightly zipped up, Peridot can still see more of Jasper's tanned muscular legs than she ever thought she would.

"I haven't had my braces since last year, Jasper," Peridot says, now confused. "I'm surprised you even noticed them at all."

"Well I guess I'm more perceptive than you think I am. I remember you would practically never take your glasses off during Freshman year. Man, you were such a squirt, even then."

"God bless the invention of contact lenses," Peridot mumbles, suppressing a yawn. As much as she complained to her dad that it was early, she's been through a rollercoaster of emotions today and it was staring to really getting to her.

"Come down here for a minute, nerd," Jasper says, and Peridot obliges, settling on the ground before looking at Jasper. Then she's bombarded with the sound of a camera going off.

"Did you just take a selfie?" Peridot asks, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Yeah, it's going on my Snapchat story," Jasper comments.

"Great! I look like someone just asked me if I liked Justin Beiber," Peridot complains as she examines the picture. Jasper is kneeling and grinning, and the phone is at a high angle. Peridot's expression is half-befuddled, half-astounded.

Jasper snorts.

"I'm sure your girlfriend will still think you're pretty," Jasper says. Peridot can't be bothered to correct her.

"Lapis follows you on Snapchat?"

"She follows like everyone, why do you ask? She gonna be mad you're spending time with another woman?" Jasper says as she posts the picture to Snapchat.

"Tch. Let her think what she wants." Peridot says, getting back on the bed and fiddling with her own phone. Her thumb hovers over Lapis' number in her contacts, before going back to the home screen.

"I'm sensing trouble in paradise. Need me to step in as a marriage counsellor?" Jasper says.

Peridot groans. "Ugh, can't you take anything seriously?" she snaps. "It's no wonder everyone thinks all you are is a meathead jock who can't reign in her temper."

"Better than being a lonely geek with zero social skills. You're a loser, Peridot!" Peridot thinks she must have pushed a button, or maybe Jasper's not having such a great day. Well, whatever. It's not as if Peridot's had the most pleasant fucking time. She can argue with Jasper all night long to be honest, and she knows the other girl can do the same.

"Figures you're a bully as well." Peridot snorts. "I always thought you'd result to unpleasant insults and violence."

"You're such a damn hypocrite, you know that? I'm sorry we can't all be as high-and-mighty as the _great Peridot_ ," Jasper says, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"You're just incapable of having any kind of rational discussion. Serves me right for thinking you could be anything other than what you are." Peridot knows that these words have no meaning behind them, no true feelings. She's just spitting out any offense she can think of, wanting to get to Jasper, and she knows the other girl is doing the same. It's always like this when they argue – they have no valid reason to fight other than their clashing personalities, and then it becomes a challenge to be the most impertinent.

"God, I wish I hadn't agreed to come over," Jasper finally snarls.

Peridot finally shuts up and pretends to busy herself with her phone.

It seems that every conversation she has with Jasper they take a step forward, only to start arguing and take two steps back.

After a few moments of silence, she finally speaks. "Lapis lied to me."

She hears rather than sees Jasper turns back over in the sleeping bag to face her. "And you feel offended because you've never kept secrets before." It's not a question. "You're now a bundle of anxiety, wondering if there is anything else she's keeping from you," she says.

Peridot nods, chewing on her bottom lip before pushing her glasses back up her face and speaking.

"If your friend was in a relationship and she never told you about it until years after they broke up, how would you react?" she asks.

"Is this about Pearl?" Jasper immediately asks.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me I was the only one who didn't know?"

Jasper shrugs. "Maybe she didn't want you to know unless it was anything serious."

"Was it?"

Jasper shrugs again. "I don't remember that much of it, only that their break up lasted a grand total of three weeks, right at the end of Freshman year. When they came back after the break, it was like two totally different people. They were surprisingly … friendly towards each other."

"She could've talked to me about it," Peridot says in a small voice, and Jasper sighs.

"Maybe she didn't _want_ to tell you."

Peridot's head snaps straight up. "I'm her best friend," she insists.

Jasper holds up her hands defensively. "I know! I'm not questioning that. Maybe she wanted it to be something special, that only she carried with her. Or maybe she didn't want to bother you."

"Maybe she didn't think I cared," Peridot mutters. An uncomfortable silence spread through the room, and again Peridot gets the urge to text Lapis.

"Who knows? But it seems like you two really need to talk. See, I do make a good marriage counsellor!" Jasper exclaimed.

Peridot sniggered. "You really know how to push my buttons, huh?"

"Yeah, but you like it."

She turns so she's lying down on her side, facing Jasper, and smirks at her. "Oh do I?"

"Of course you do. You'd be bored without me." Jasper looks up at her, her blonde hair spread out across the pillow and pale carpet of Peridot's bedroom.

"I guess I would." She sighs, flopping back down onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. She kind of wishes she'd kept the glow in the dark stars up there. They would be a sight for sore eyes now.

"You're pretty fun to argue with for a nerd," Jasper says after a while, and Peridot snorts.

"Likewise."

"I mean it. It's probably because you're smart. I can't really be offended - I'm too busy being amazed at the amount of bullshit you manage to spout."

"You're just full of compliments tonight, aren't you?" Peridot jokes. "So you're seriously not offended?" she asks in a more subdued tone.

"Nah, you're really not that bad. Even if we are pretty horrible to each other," Jasper laments.

Peridot can only hum in response. A quick glance at her phone tells her it's nearing ten o'clock.

She yawns, and decides to follow Jasper's advice.

She pulls out her contacts list and selects Lapis.

' **Peridot' to 'Lapis** **'**

 **11** **th** **April 2015**

 **9: 55 p.m.**

 **I feel like maybe we need to talk. Meet me tomorrow on the beach at around eleven? I hope you're not annoyed at me :/**

She sighs, putting her phone on silent.

"Tell you what," Jasper says, and then she herself yawns. "How about we make a deal?"

"I'm listening," Peridot said.

"Until the project is done, only mild teasing is allowed. Then, we can go back to hating each other as usual for the rest of our miserable time in high school."

Peridot chuckles. "That sounds good to me."

"I'm sorry." Jasper apologises after a moment.

Peridot looks at her. "About what?"

"Everything."

"Like, as in literally everything in the world? I didn't figure you were _evil_ ," Peridot jokes.

"No, dipshit, I mean everything I've said, or done, to you. I figure now that we're being nice to each other one of us had to say it first, and I'm not gonna be known as more cowardly than you … Also, it's kinda something I've needed to get off my chest."

Peridot blinks. "I'm sorry too," she says in a small voice. "I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with. I probably aggravate you more than I need to. I'm sorry," she repeats.

After a few minutes of silence, she looks down at the other girl, only to find her with her eyes closed, curled almost into a ball.

"Are you falling asleep already?" she asks bemusedly.

"Mm, I'm a heavy _and_ easy sleeper. It's a talent," Jasper mumbles, and Peridot really has to try this time to hold in her smile.

She fails.

"Good night, Jasper. I'll see you tomorrow," she whispers, and Jasper only mutters something unintelligible as a result.

Picking up her phone, she sees that Lapis has replied.

' **Lapis' to 'Peridot'**

 **11** **th** **April 2015**

 **10: 07 p.m.**

 **sure. i need to talk to you too. and i'm not /that/ mad … i'll only try to drown you once :p**

She smiles, a small one, when she reads to text, and then it changes into a grin as she looks at Jasper.

She stares up at the ceiling as she feels sleep growing closer and closer, and thinks that even though the stars aren't there anymore, she's seeing them anyway.

* * *

 _a/n:_ _i hope you all enjoyed this chapter :) see you next chapter, featuring the gay adventures of pearl and lapis!_


	5. Lapis and Pearl in: Romeo and Juliet

_a/n:_ _I'd like to apologise to you guys. While I knew this fic was going to be slow to update, I really didn't mean to leave you two months without an update. But I'm now in year 11, which means lots of exam prep, careers meetings, and mocks. And a fuckton of homework. So yeah, my life has been hectic. But I managed to make time for Jaspidot now! Hopefully now that I've settled into my routine a bit I'll be able to make more time to write, but, yeah, as always this isn't going to be a weekly thing. However I don't plan on ever having such a long break like the one between the lats chapter and this one._

 _However, to make up for it, this chapter is super long and super gay._

 _Anyway, now that the boring part's out the way, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Peridot awoke to the delicious smell of bacon frying slowly wafting up to her room from the kitchen. While normally she wouldn't be opposed to this, it took her a few minutes to gather her thoughts from a sleep-filled daze to remember that they didn't have any bacon in the house.

And that she could also smell, faintly, something burning.

She shot up, immediately wide awake and alert. She groped around the clutter of her bedside table for her glasses before struggling out of bed and putting them on her face. Somehow during the night her covers had managed to wrap themselves around her legs of their own accord, and she had to take a minute to untangle herself from them, before realises that Jasper was no longer asleep on the floor.

"Oh God," she muttered to herself, her voice scratchy from lack of use. She hurriedly rushed out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen, only to be stopped in her tracks.

Jasper was standing by the oven, casually frying bacon while keeping one eye on the toaster, and also drinking from a carton of orange juice. Thankfully, she had put her jeans back on. Peridot didn't think she'd be able to handle seeing Jasper's lithe body so early on in the morning.

On cue, as if she could sense Peridot thinking about her, Jasper turned around. She set the carton down and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Sup, Peri Peri Chicken?" she greeted with a smirk.

Peridot tried to gather her thoughts into actual sentences. "What is going on? Where did you get bacon from?" she exclaimed, not bothering to comment on the nicknames. She reckoned it was about time to admit defeat anyway. Jasper wasn't going to stop with them no matter what. Maybe she could train herself to blank them out?

"Yeah, I got a craving for it, so I went to the store. Hope you're hungry," Jasper said casually.

Peridot's mouth opened and closed as she tried to think of something to say. _Well, at least her explanation made sense_ , she thought to herself.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. I can deal with that. But why is there a burning smell?"

Jasper's smile turned sort of sheepish. "I maybe burnt a piece of bread. Your toaster's more complicated than it looks!"

Peridot sighs, finally resigning herself to Jasper's strange antics.

"Okay," she repeats, and figures she's mostly done wrapping her head around all this madness.

She slumps at the kitchen table, checking the time on the clock hanging on the wall. It's around half nine.

 _Less than two hours until you meet with Lapis_ , her brain reminded her.

She groaned internally. Though she felt like last night she resolved some of her issues by talking to Jasper, she still wasn't looking forward to talking with her best friend about her ex-girlfriend. For some reason, whenever she pictured Lapis with Pearl, she got a funny feeling in her heart, kind of like something was clawing at it.

Whatever it was, she didn't like it at all.

She snapped back into reality, pushing her thoughts of Lapis to the back of her head and saving them for later, when Jasper offered her the carton of juice. Her raised eyebrow asked the question for her: _want some?_

She scrunched up her nose when she remembered Jasper drank straight out of it. "I think I'll pass."

Jasper shrugged, and they then sat in comfortable silence while Jasper plated up the food. She had somehow managed to turn on the radio (how she had managed to do that when she couldn't figure out how to use a simple toaster Peridot had no clue) and smooth swing music filtered through the speakers at a soft, low volume. The moment felt so _right_ for Peridot, and again she had to be taken away from her thoughts abruptly when Jasper placed a plate down in front of her.

"Wow, you're practically a gourmet chef," she commented as she observed the food in front of her: a toasted sandwich, heaped with bacon in the middle.

"Shut up and eat your sandwich, Peridot," Jasper mocked, taking a massive bite out of her own.

"No, I'm serious," Peridot said, a giggle escaping and breaking her serious act," you're practically Gordon Ramsey … if he went to the gym like 24/7." She continued to chuckle.

Jasper sighed. "You gonna eat that or not, cause, y'know, I'm an athlete. I'm a big eater, and another sandwich is sounding pretty tempting right now."

"Alright, okay, I'm eating it," Peridot said defensively, finally taking a bite out of it. It was surprisingly good, the bacon fried to the perfect texture and taste. She closed her eyes momentarily in bliss, and when she opened them again Jasper was staring at her with a somewhat expectant look on her face, mixed with something else Peridot just couldn't decipher.

"Is it good?" she asked.

Peridot nodded. "You take food very seriously."

Jasper smiled slightly, but said nothing, and they finished their food, once again, in silence.

While normally Peridot did enjoy silences, as she wasn't really good with conversation, something with Jasper felt different. This quiet … it wasn't because of Peridot's lack of ability with small talk, but because they felt relaxed around one another. Somehow, overnight, something in their dynamic had shifted. Although they still exchanged insults and teased each other, there was no hostility like before. It just felt weird to Peridot – like the natural order of everything had shifted. She wasn't talking to Lapis, and Jasper was sitting in her kitchen and trying to steal bacon off her plate.

Her eyes widened in realisation and she slapped Jasper's hand away gently.

"Greedy," she mutters, before standing up to take the plates and put them in the dishwasher.

Jasper even helps her, and Peridot can only narrow her eyes in suspicion. Jasper was being _too_ nice.

Jasper wipes her hands on her jeans once, and then turns to face Peridot, sighing. "So, what now?" she asks, and she gets the feeling she wasn't just talking about the present.

Peridot checks the time. "I'm meeting Lapis in an hour. You should probably go. After last night, I doubt she wants to see you."

Jasper raises an eyebrow; an invitation for Peridot to elaborate.

"Well, I mean, I did ditch her for you," she said awkwardly as she walked into the hallway, Jasper following her, and doing her best not to offend Jasper. Mentally she had to check herself; since when had she ever cared about insulting Jasper before? It seemed that as soon as she had woken up her entire world had now shifted to accommodate Jasper. The strangest thing was that she wasn't sure if that was a bad thing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your date night," Jasper replies, and the genuine bitterness hidden in her tone makes Peridot question whether or not she's being sarcastic.

She wanted to respond, wanted to argue and have a go at Jasper and all her little idiosyncrasies that annoyed Peridot greatly, but somehow the fight had gone out of her. It wasn't even because of their agreement. Now a part of her genuinely wanted to be nice to Jasper, who only two days ago was probably one of Peridot's most hated people. Thinking about it only made her head hurt.

She said dejectedly, after a pause, "You should leave now. I'm going to take a shower."

Quickly Jasper retorted, "Is that an invitation, Dottie?"

Peridot tried to fix the other girl with her most withering gaze, hoping it would compensate for the way her heart went into overdrive and all the blood rushed to her face.

They stared at each other for a few, tense seconds.

"I'm going to go," Jasper said, turning around and awkwardly struggling for a few seconds to put on her shoes. "By the way, we're working on the project on Tuesday. Come over to mine," she continued speaking.

"Oh really?" Peridot questioned with a smirk, trying to diffuse the tension. "That's news to me."

Jasper opened the door and walked out backwards, shooting a cocky grin at Peridot. "Don't worry about it. Leave it to Jasper to come up with another awesome idea!" she yelled.

Peridot winced slightly, hoping to God the neighbours were already awake by now. She knows that Jasper's voice definitely isn't the sound _she'd_ want to wake up to.

"Tch, yeah, whatever. Try not to cause too much trouble!" she called out after her.

Jasper turned around, waving a hand in the air as if to brush Peridot off, like she was a fly that needed to be swatted out the air.

"Oh, and don't get too gay with Lapis! That beach is public, you know!" Jasper's final yell seemed to echo in the air for minutes, until long after she was gone. Peridot then realised she'd been standing in the open doorway in her pyjamas for anyone to see, and quickly shut the door.

She shook her head at Jasper's antics. Now was not the time to think about their weird 'friendship' (if it could even be called that) that had been struck up. She had other things to focus on.

* * *

When Peridot saw Lapis sitting on the beach, her heart nearly beat straight out of her chest and onto the sand stretching out in front. She knew, somewhere in the rational part of her mind, that there was no reason to be this nervous. But the only thing going through her head right now were definitely not coherent thoughts; it was a constant stream of _Lapis and Pearl hugging, Lapis and Pearl kissing, Lapis and Pearl together_ –

Lapis turned around then to face Peridot, and that's when her heart really did stop functioning.

Gone was Lapis' long brown French braid, a staple of Peridot's life for the majority of it. In its place was a choppy bob that somehow managed to make being uneven look like it was meant to be that way, with the ends coming down into points.

And it was shockingly, unnaturally, unmistakably _blue_.

"What the ever-loving fuck," Peridot said as she walked closer to Lapis, all instances of politeness thrown out the window. She was 100% sure Lapis had not looked like this last night.

Lapis gave a sheepish smile is response. She tugged at the end of one of the sapphire locks. "Amethyst did it last night. You like it?"

Peridot sat down beside Lapis on the towel, still awestruck.

"… Uh, yeah, it looks … nice," she replied, finally finding her voice but still a bit taken aback. "I know you're one for impulse decisions but isn't this taking it a bit too far?"

Lapis laughed, and Peridot was hit with how much she had missed that sound. The thought of how it had been less than twenty-four hours since they last saw each other passed through her mind, but was quickly brushed away. Her co-dependency issues could be touched upon later, after she had talked to Lapis.

"So did you have fun after I left?" Peridot hoped Lapis would ignore the way her voice got quieter as she said the last word.

Her eyes brightened, and Peridot couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, it was great! You should totally come down to the warehouse next time something's going on, everyone there is super nice, even the people who came from Charm City High. I heard they were supposed to be super tough, but they were actually so chill! And Sour Cream's music is amazing … " She trailed off as she noticed Peridot grinning at her, and a slight blush began to dust her face.

Peridot couldn't help but notice the way Lapis reached up to tug on the ends of her hair, just as she used to do with her braid. Now, though, she seemed to have forgotten about her haircut, as she kept reaching for strands that weren't there. It was just another thing that made about Lapis that made her smile.

"Oh, Peridot." Lapis sighed. "You'd have loved it."

Peridot shifted. "Yeah, sorry I had to make an emergency exit," she said, and tried to chuckle. It came out as more of an ailing croak, and she cringed.

"Oh no, it's okay," Lapis smiled, and though a part of Peridot did feel more at ease, there was something about her friend's angelic smile that made her think the worst was about to happen.

"I saw Jasper's Snapchat. Did you have a fun sleepover?" Lapis' voice was tinged with bitterness (reminding Peridot, strangely, of Jasper) and Peridot winced. _Yep, the worst_.

"You know it wasn't like that, Lapis," she said in a quiet voice.

Lapis shrugged. "But still," she said, picking up a handful of sand and watching it fall through her fingers as the late morning sun tinted in more golden, "you left me."

"I'm sorry."

Lapis nodded her head. Peridot could tell that although Lapis may have accepted her apology, she was not completely forgiven.

"Also, Amethyst called you a nerd. I thought you should know," Lapis said, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

Peridot huffed, blowing a strand of black hair out her eye. "If she didn't like Coke and onion rings so much I'd kill her."

Lapis sniggered. "Sure, sure. You just need to admit it, Peridot. Self-realization is the next step to happiness, y'know."

"Okay, now I'm confused." Peridot held up her hands. "Admit what?"

"You pretend to hate Amethyst, but you totally have this big lesbian crush on her!" Lapis blurted, still giggling, though Peridot failed to see what was so amusing – she was just looking at Lapis with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Okay, Janis Ian!" she laughed nervously. For some reason she had begun to feel anxious, and she couldn't figure out why. She knew that it wasn't true, so why was her mind running in circles?

"You know that's not true," she said.

Lapis snorted. "Oh, come on. Okay, what about Garnet? She's pretty hot. It's the sunglasses, I think. They make her all mysterious and enticing. Or maybe it's Jenny, she's really cute - "

"What are you on about?" Peridot finally interrupted. She was afraid that if Lapis kept talking, she might blush so hard Jasper could fry bacon on her face.

"This is the kind of thing friends talk about. It's the three Hs: hooch, hanhich, hot girls."

"Only if you're a pothead like you, dumbass. The only girl you'll ever want to talk about it Mary Jane!" Peridot gave Lapis a light shove into the sand.

She was shoved back by her smirking friend. "You spread such cruel lies about me, you really do." She clutched her heart dramatically. "I'll talk about other girls any time you want."

"What about Pearl?" Peridot said so quickly she wasn't even sure she'd really spoken. It was only the heavy, tense silence lying in the air around them like smoke and the half-bewildered, half-panicked expression on her friend's face that gave any indication of what was going on.

"What?" Lapis repeated, some laughter still in her voice, as if she was searching desperately for a joke.

Peridot picked at a loose thread on her shorts casually. There was no way to go back now she had started. She could only press on, even if she was afraid of what she might find out.

"I know," she finally decided to say, not bothering to beat around the bush, "about you and Pearl. Talk about lesbian crushes," she said, though there was no humour in her voice.

Lapis stilled, her entire posture ridged, her face blank. She stared out at the ocean, watching the waves crash back and forth over the shore, the only sound. Peridot stared at her.

After a long silence, in which Peridot didn't bother to press her friend for details, she finally spoke in a small, quiet, melancholy voice.

"It was Freshman year. We started dating in January. I made the first move. We had our first date in the arcade, and I beat her at air hockey ten times. But I don't think she really cared."

Peridot stayed quiet as Lapis told the story.

Her voice stayed monotonous the entire time, but Peridot got the feeling that Lapis was hiding a lot of anguish underneath. You could just see it in her eyes.

She continued, "We technically dated until June, but I don't really count that month. We just kind of … fell apart. It's not that romantic when you think about it. We weren't the modern day Romeo and Juliet. Maybe in the beginning. But I always got the feeling something wasn't quite right with us. We never felt like one of those couples that really liked each other. But maybe that's just me. She always seemed into it though. But I knew she was lying to herself. She always did reckon she was a good liar. But I could see straight through her.

"She was in love with Garnet even then. I think she always has been. But she knew it when she was going out with me; we were just lying to each other, together for the sake of being together. We even had sex. But I … I don't know. It seemed like such a big deal back then. But it didn't really feel like it to me. My first girlfriend, my first time, it's all supposed to be this huge deal, y'know? Rose petals and angels singing and violins in the background. But it just … wasn't. It just felt like a fake, plastic relationship. And it was. We both knew it was. But we were too stubborn to admit to ourselves that we were just puppets playing parts."

Lapis sighed, and Peridot wanted desperately to hold her, to comfort her, to show Lapis that she was there for her. But she knew that if she did, she would probably never let go. So she let her continue.

"One of us had to end it. In the end, it was me. And then we just let it go. I still think about it. But it was three years ago. There's not much I can do. And she got what she wanted. She's with Garnet now, and she's happy. But I still think about her. Not in a romantic way. I guess I – we're always gonna have each other in our minds."

"Did you get what you wanted?" Peridot asked quietly. Lapis didn't reply.

"Tell me about kissing girls," Peridot says. Lapis turns and looks at her for a few seconds, and for a moment Peridot thinks she isn't going to respond. But then she does, and her facial expression has changed in such a way that indicates to Peridot that they won't be talking about Pearl for a long while now.

"It's pretty much the same as kissing boys," Lapis says with a shrug.

"That's helpful," Peridot says.

Lapis gives her a _look_. "Okay, so it's not exactly the same … I, uh, don't really know how to explain it. It made me feel good inside, like I was somewhere I was meant to be. Their lips are soft, but also rough, and I could kinda taste chapstick. Raspberry chapstick … " she trailed off after a bit.

"That answer your question?" she raised an eyebrow.

Peridot nodded dumbly, then shook her head to get herself out of her thoughts.

"I understand why you didn't tell me, and I'm not going to bother you about it."

"That doesn't sound much like you," Lapis interrupted with a smirk.

"Would you shut up?" Peridot asked teasingly.

"It's okay. I don't mind talking about it. We had some fun times after all." Lapis broke off her sentence to laugh. "We tried to go to DelmarvaCon once. We we gonna go as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. But we couldn't get it, so we ended up walking around Charm City in our cosplays for five hours, looking for something to do. So, we went to the park, and a bunch of kids saw us and wanted to take our photos, and we ended up on the swings, not talking, just seeing who could go higher and higher and then jump off. Kinda hard to do in a short ass skirt.

"We used to do really cheesy romantic stuff too. All the clichés. I'd carry her bag for her, we'd kiss in the rain, even if she hated it and towel-dried my hair for me afterwards. We'd double-date all the time with Garnet and - " she stopped to cough, then continued, "with Garnet and Amethyst."

"Seriously? Has everyone been having a massive orgy and I just _haven't noticed_?" Peridot exclaimed.

"Ha, yeah. Though I'm not sure that's how I'd put it."

"Hmm. That explains why Amethyst doesn't care about any of Pearl and Garnet's romantic shit, then."

Lapis murmured something in reply.

"What?"

"I said I gotta go. I have a shit ton of Physics homework to do. And you know you've got that textbook work to do as well."

"Crap! I completely forgot. See, this is why I don't socialise more than four hours a day, it completely fucks up my homework schedule!"

Lapis stifled a laugh. "Amethyst was right. You are a nerd."

Peridot flipped her off as they stood up.

Lapis stretched. "You're lucky you got my ass out of bed this morning at all. My heart was hurting like crazy."

"You're totally going to wreck yourself one of these days, you know that?"

Lapis shrugged. "The good die young. See you later, alligator!" she called as she walked off the beach and out of sight.

Peridot sighed in exasperation as she watched her friend go, however as soon as she was gone her thoughts took over her mind, filling her brain to the brim with mania, like the plug had been pulled.

 _Today really has been a lot to take in_ , she thought as she walked home. Lapis' hair, for one thing, did funny things to Peridot's insides that she really didn't want to think about. And all that shit with Pearl just made her head hurt and her heart ache.

But what she really, _really_ could not get her mind off was Lapis' description of kissing girls. It just seemed like it was sticking to her like cobwebs clinging to velvet.

"Soft, but also rough … " she muttered to herself. She'd never really thought about kissing before.

In her head, she tried to think of an attractive guy. She decided on Buck. he was considered pretty good-looking, right? Jenny and Sour Cream sure seemed to think so. So did loads of other girls.

She tried to picture kissing him. The image was like when the TV signal got interference from the rain. Nothing but glitches and static; however hard she tried she couldn't get a clear image in her head.

She shook her head. Lapis said it was supposed to feel _good_ , to feel _right_.

She tried to think of an attractive girl next.

Shakily, she brought her hands up to her cheeks to see if they were warm from blush. She didn't know why the question made her feel this way. What worried her was the way that unlike when she thought about men, she immediately could think of a multitude of options.

Lapis was right – Garnet and Jenny were attractive. So was Pearl, admittedly, though the thought of the fact that her lips had touched lapis' was a bit off-putting. Amethyst was pretty hot, with her purple hair and tendency to latch herself onto people no matter how well she knew them.

And then .. there was Lapis.

Peridot's heart didn't so much do a somersault as it did five backflips in a row before throwing itself off a cliff.

Taking a deep breath, she imagined kissing Lapis.

Their lips gently pressing against each other, the fluttering of their eyelashes, feeling Lapis breathing in sync with her. Running a hand through Lapis' new short hair, tangling her fingers in the ends just as she had a habit to do so, as her tongue brushed her friend's bottom lip gently …

She brought a hand up to her lip as she exhaled softly, tracing it, as if imagining it was Lapis.

Suddenly, in her head, it was like changing channels. Lapis faded away from her fantasy, and in her place was … Jasper.

Jasper's calloused hands around her waist, her teeth scraping against Peridot's lip (harsh and animalistic, but also in a way the most loving thing Peridot would ever feel). Her long blonde hair falling against her tanned skin, perfect for endlessly running her fingers through. The way she looked in just a shirt and boxers, legs defined and smooth. asper was strong, but also gentle. She could probably lift Peridot up. She'd always be wary of harming her though …

Peridot started as she realised she'd reached her front door. She flicked herself in the head. This was reaching dangerous territory.

All these feelings bottled up inside of her, and she didn't know what to do with them.

All she knew was that they were unavoidable. She'd be seeing Lapis and Jasper at school tomorrow, and Jasper to work on the project. And she'd just had a daydream about kissing them. More than that with Jasper. Things had started to verge into a sort of romance, and she had no idea what to do with herself.

And for some reason, she was more concerned about, more preoccupied with Jasper than her _best friend_.

What she was thinking was unavoidable.

She groaned to herself. She knew for certain that this wasn't just something she could push to the back of her mind.

And it honestly scared her to death.

* * *

 _a/n: poor peridot ... so smol ... so gay ... so frustrated :c_

 _i think i'll just let everyone digest this in the comments XD like peridot said, it's a lot to take in_

 _fun fact: the bit with amethyst and the big lesbian crush was added after i watched 'too far' cause the amedot needed to be acknowledged. also it led nicely to the next bit_

 _also i made myself really sad about lapis and pearlapis this chapter :0 the struggles of being a writer_

 _sorry for not including much jasper, but she'll be back next chapter! and so will the history project (fucking finally)_

 _please comment and tell me what you liked, what you want to see happen, predictions, theories, whatever you want! comments are my lifeblood_

 _as always, thanks for reading! see you (hopefully, but no promises) in two or three weeks!_


	6. Peridot and Jasper Get Creative

_a/n: me: says i won't leave another upload break of two months_

 _me: has not updated in over two months_  
 _..._  
 _... merry christmas, i guess? also pls don't kill me_

 _but seriously, i hope you enjoy this chapter! what with exams and my play and personal stuff this chapter has been a long time coming, so i hope you all enjoy! also, it's christmas break now so i hopefully will have time to write more. my new year's resolution is to finish this fic so hopefully there'll be a lot of new updates next year!_

* * *

Peridot nearly forgets about Lapis' blue hair. When she opens the door Monday morning she nearly has a heart attack, and it's the same thing again the next day.

Lapis blushes as Peridot gapes at her for a few seconds.

"Still getting used to it?" her friend asks as they walk along Peridot's driveway.

She nods. Maybe it's just the shock of seeing such a bright colour so early in the mornings.

" … Though it is fun having all the Freshmen stop and stare at me in the mornings."

Peridot zones back in, realising Lapis had been talking the entire time, and made a speedy recovery with a quick nod in reply, hoping it would suffice. The sparkle in Lapis' eyes lets her know that her friend sees right through her, and Peridot gets a shiver down her spine. They really can read each other well. Sometimes it does seem more like she's an open book and Lapis is on the top shelf on the restricted section, under lock and key. No matter how many times she tries to mask her feelings, her friend always sees right through her – and yet, when she tries to do the same, it's like there's an iron wall between them, and there's no way she can see through. And, if she doesn't even know her what her own emotions are, how can she expect to know Lapis'?

"Amethyst seems really pleased as well. She did a good job – hey, maybe she could do your hair next? How about it?"

Peridot pulls a disgusted face. "Ugh, I'd rather not. No thanks."

"Come on, not even green? You'd look good; it'd be all luminous and cool!"

Peridot chuckles. "I don't think that sounds like a good idea," she says. "Beach or boardwalk?"

"Hmm," Lapis thinks. "Boardwalk. I want to get frybits."

"This early in the morning?"

"Mmhmm!"

"You have an iron stomach, my friend," Peridot replies, shaking her head as Lapis happily makes her way along the boardwalk to Beach Citywalk Fries.

Ronaldo is lazily leaning on the counter, his attention solely focused on his phone. That is, until they walk over. He jumps about ten feet in the air when he sees Lapis, and points a shaky finger at her hair.

"Lapis Lazuli Kealoha, don't tell me the mermaids finally got to you as well!" he exclaims.

"Er … what? Why are you using my full name?" Lapis looks around, confused, hoping for someone else to say something.

Peridot rolls her eyes. "We'll take an order of frybits," she says.

Ronaldo nods and backs off, his eyes never leaving Lapis' hair and his expression mesmerised.

"Don't let him take a picture or you'll be all over his blog labelled as the siren of Beach City in the next two minutes," Peridot murmurs as they wait for their food.

Lapis smirks. "Oh _no_ , and then all the twelve people who read it will think I'm a _monster_!" she exclaims, and they laugh together.

Lapis pays and they make a quick escape from Ronaldo's unwavering (and frankly disturbing) gaze.

"Catch," Lapis says, throwing a frybit in the air. Peridot lunges and catches it in her mouth, biting down with a small smile directed at her friend.

"It tastes greasy as fuck," she complains.

Lapis throws another one in the air. "You're still gonna eat them though."

"That is true," Peridot says, as she does a dramatic spin in order to catch it.

"Show off."

They continue to walk to school, sharing frybits as they go. Even with the stop for food, it still takes them less time to get to school than if they walked on the beach, since Lapis tends to get distracted. Soon they've arrived, and Lapis chucks the paper bag in one of the bins, wiping the back of her mouth with her hand.

"And thus another lowly day in high school begins," Lapis says dramatically shoving her hands in the pockets of her navy blue hoodie. Even though it was mid-April, it was an unusually cold day, and the wind was now whipping Lapis' hair into a storm. With the new colour it looked like waves crashing about, and Peridot could almost see the appeal of dying your hair a strange colour; it suddenly made everything about you seem more mystical.

"What's your first lesson?" Peridot asks as they walk along the corridors to their lockers.

"Biology," Lapis replies with a shudder. "Not looking forward to that one."

Peridot's about to reply when she feels an arm being looped into hers, and hears an obnoxiously loud voice bellowing in her ear.

"Hey Peri!" Amethyst yells with a grin. Although Peridot's small, Amethyst is what some might call _tiny_ , and it's amazing she managed to reach Peridot's ear. Garnet and Pearl are standing behind her as well, smiling and holding hands. Peridot glances at Lapis, and sees that she's staring at the wall just beyond Pearl.

She winces at the nickname. "Not you too," she mutters under her breath.

"Why'd you ditch us on Saturday, man?" Amethyst continues. "The party was just getting started and all."

"I'm not much of a party person."

"Whaaat? You're clearly the life of the party, _Peri_?" Lapis butts in, and Peridot sends her a death glare. Lapis merely grins at her.

Garnet places a hand on Amethyst shoulder and semi-forcefully drags her off. "Don't harass people," she says in a calm voice.

Amethyst pouts. "You gotta ruin all my fun."

Peridot remembers, then, what Lapis told her on Sunday.

" _We'd double-date all the time with Garnet and Amethyst._ "

She looks at them, at Garnet's hand touching Amethyst's shoulder, at the way they tease each other, and wonders if Pearl knows. She _must_ know, they've been friends for as long as Peridot's known them. She wonders what Pearl thinks about it, and what Amethyst thinks about Pearl and Garnet.

She guesses it must be what Lapis feels every time she sees Pearl. She doesn't know how any of them can stand to be around each other for more than a second. Feelings are just too confusing. She can't even figure out her own ones. All she knows is that she can't stop thinking about what Lapis told her about kissing girls, no matter how much she wants to push it to the back of her mind and forget about it.

The bell rings just in time to pull Peridot out of her own thoughts. The others wave goodbye and Peridot heads off to homeroom, Lapis trailing behind.

"You have history today, right?" Lapis asks.

Peridot groans. Just _great_.

"Yeah, last lesson, and we're meant to be working on our project after school. We don't even have any real ideas. All I know is that we're doing it on Pandora's Box. I have no idea how I'm gonna survive. I just want to crawl into a hole and ignore everything."

"That's not a very wise life philosophy," Lapis says. "It's more likely that people will just start ignoring you, anyway."

"Tch. Whatever. I just don't want to deal with Jasper today."

"Why not? I thought you too were all buddy-buddy now."

Peridot shrugs. "I guess, but … she's crass and loud and aggressive and invasive and pretty much the exact opposite of me."

Lapis simply raises an eyebrow. "You have no chill, Peridot."

"I have plenty of chill!" Peridot exclaims. "Jasper's the one you should be worrying about."

"Okay, I take that back. _Neither_ of you have any chill. So you should get along perfectly." Lapis smiled at her.

Peridot grimaced. "In theory, yeah."

They reach their rooms and smile at each other, parting ways for the rest of the day.

"It's a pity I have swim practice after school, or I'd come help you guys out. But I'd just feel like a bit of a third wheel between you guys to be honest."

Peridot blinks. Surely Jasper would be the third wheel around her and Lapis? She shakes her head slightly.

"I'm sure everything will be fine!" Lapis says, before going into her room.

Peridot's mood brightens. Maybe Lapis is right. Maybe Jasper will actually be bearable today.

* * *

"Yo, Peridottie, I have to ask you something. You gotta know about Lapis' new hair, right? 'Course you do, you're practically joined at the hip. Anyway, so, what's the truth? Does the carpet match the drapes or what? Everyone's dying to know, and I figured you're the most reliable source," Jasper garbles out as she takes her seat next to Peridot, sitting relaxed and drowning the last few sips of a canned energy drink.

"You're disgusting," Peridot mutters.

Jasper crumples up the can and throws it with her eyes closed. It lands straight in the bin and she flashes a smirk at Peridot. "I'm just the voice of the people, my dear."

"You're creepy, that's what you are. Stick with the regular nicknames, please."

Jasper shrugs. "Suit yourself. Anyway, more importantly I have yet _another_ great idea for our project."

"Do go on," Peridot asked, opening her notebook and getting a pen to make it seem like she was about to write something down. In reality, Mr Lewis was walking past and she didn't want him to think they were doing nothing.

Swiftly, he reached down and pulled Jasper's Snapback off her head and placed it down on the desk. "No hats in class, Miss Keeley," he said in a dull voice.

Jasper sighed. "One day I shall not let authority get the better of me."

"God help us when that day comes," Peridot muttered. "Anyway, you had an idea?"

Jasper brightens up. "Yeah! But you're gonna have to wait until we get to my house, it's kind of in need of a visual introduction."

Peridot groans, closing her eyes and thumping her head on the desk in despair. She opens one eye to stare at Jasper with the most withering exasperated glare she can manage. "So once again we're stuck with nothing to do this lesson? That's smart. Really clever of you."

"Nope. You have a PowerPoint to work on, remember? Leave me to worry about everything else, and just do what you do best."

Peridot blinks, propping herself up on her arms slightly. "Was that … a compliment? From _Jasper_?" she says, a smile beginning to bloom.

Jasper tries to glare at her, but can't keep a straight face. The gentle smile she gives Peridot kind of ruins the whole tough girl image.

Then again, Jasper has just been surprising Peridot more and more lately with how much she didn't fit the image Peridot had in her head of her. The big, rough jock who couldn't give a damn about anyone else … That wasn't really Jasper at all. Jasper was, of course, still rude and prickly, like a crab with a shell to revert into. Confronting her would be like facing a bull head on. But she was also … kind of a dork. Peridot didn't really no how else to describe it. Jasper cried in public after angrily kicking trashcans over. Jasper loved Iron Man and Blondie. She texted like a four year old had gotten hold of her phone, she wore odd socks, and she knew when to make stupid jokes and when to back off and be gentle.

And Peridot found she liked the real Jasper a whole lot more than the Jasper in her head.

"Hold onto that compliment while you can, shortbus, because it's not happening again," Jasper commented, putting her hands behind her head and relaxing, her chair dangerously tipping back and balancing precariously on one leg.

Peridot smirked. There she went again, brushing off her emotions like they didn't mean anything. But Peridot knew better than that. In that way, they were both open books.

"Alright, then," she replied, getting her laptop out her bag, and beginning to work.

* * *

It wasn't long before Jasper started to get bored.

"I hope there aren't crappy transitions and animations," she commented.

Peridot stopped what she was doing and sighed, glancing at Jasper out of the corner of her eye. _And so it begins_ , she thought to herself.

"No, Jasper," she replied, mustering up what little patience she had, "there will not be crappy transitions or animations. I'm not in the fourth grade, you know."

"You're short enough to be," Jasper grumbled to herself.

"Ha ha," Peridot laughed, her mind half on what Jasper was saying and half on considering what information to have on the slide and what to put in the notes.

There was silence for a few blissful minutes.

Then Jasper spoke again.

"Will there be GIFs?"

Peridot huffs, blowing a strand of black hair out her face. "Why would there be GIFS? This is a presentation on Ancient Greece!"

Jasper shrugs. "Maybe the Greeks like GIFs."

"Maybe they did," she replies, and she finally thinks she's satisfied Jasper when suddenly she's right next to her, their chairs pulled close together, though Jasper's is a bit behind. She can feel the warmth of her breath on her ear, and hear every little intake of air. It creates goosebumps on her skin and shocks her to her core.

"What design are you gonna use?"

She can practically see the smirk on Jasper's face, even though she's not looking at her. She's frankly scared to look over her shoulder, because she doesn't know how close Jasper's face will be.

In fact, she does know, and that just scares her more.

"E-Elemental," she manages to stutter out, her senses in overdrive.

"That's this one, right?" And Jasper places her hand over Peridot's on the touchpad, clicking on the design. _Jesus Christ_ , she thinks, _is Jasper trying to kill her?_

"Hmm, the colour's kind of bland, don't you think? How about red?" Jasper muses, her hand still over Peridot's.

Peridot screams internally.

"Red is fine," she gasps out, and finally Jasper's hand leaves hers. She breathes out slightly, and Jasper moves her chair away again.

"Well, that was fun! Now pack up, I wanna get back to my house so you can leave before it's dark."

"How considerate," Peridot mumbles, once again amazed that a History lesson could fly by so quickly just by Jasper being aggravating. Her heart is still beating like a drum in her chest, and she pulls the sleeves of her black jumper down after she's packed her stuff up. She doesn't want to think about what just happened with Jasper. All she knows is that a few days ago she was inexplicably fantasising about feeling Jasper's breath and touch on her body, and now it's just become a reality. That's _just_ what her troubled identity crisis needs to help it along.

In one final act of defiance, Jasper places her Snapback onto her head at an angle, and flips off Mr. Lewis. Luckily his back is turned.

"Up yours, Sir!" Jasper says cheerily, a bit too loudly for Peridot's liking, and she jumps, doing her best to drag Jasper out the classroom, the other girl laughing the entire time.

"You are a menace," she says with a gasp.

Jasper grins at her, feral. "Damn right."

* * *

Jasper has a keyring of the arc reactor, Peridot notices. There are two more: a basketball and one of a weird 'Y' inside a 'G' that she assumes is some band logo.

Jasper lets them in the house. "Keep your shoes on and follow me."

Peridot follows her through a small living room, kitchen, and laundry room before opening the back door and leading Peridot out into the garden.

The garden was as narrow and oblong as the rest of the house, and the grass was awkwardly cut, longer in some places than others, as if someone who had no idea how to use a lawnmower was in charge of maintaining it, but still gave it their best shot anyway.

There was an old, rickety-looking shed at the bottom of the garden taking up most of the space, and again Jasper used her keys to unlock it. Her body continued blocking the doorway.

 _Drama queen_ , Peridot thought to herself with a smirk.

"This is what I meant by visual introduction."

A small window shone a thin ray of sunlight onto a massive workbench that took up most of the room. And on it, there were boards upon boards of wood, a saw, and the beginnings of what appeared to be a wooden box, in the middle of construction.

She turned to stare at Jasper. The other girl gave a small shrug.

"I didn't take you to be the arts and crafts type," Peridot said, mainly to fill the silence with conversation. Really, she had no idea what to say to this.

"I'm full of surprises."

She walked over to the shelf lining the wall, filled with other small creations, carvings so intricate you couldn't help but stop and stare.

"You make all these yourself?" Peridot asks, turning her head. Jasper has come to stand beside her, looking upon the carvings with pride in her eyes.

"Yep. I work for the carpenter shop in the city. I make most of the furniture for them, and anything else they need, plus custom orders people give me. When I graduate, I'm taking over the shop full-time officially. It won't be anything different from what I do now. I'll just get my own office, and the apartment above it. Plus a cool nametag." Jasper grins at her, and Peridot feels a sudden rush of emotions. What emotion that is, however, she doesn't know. But she can't help her face from stretching into a grin to match Jasper's.

"So, basically, my idea was to make Pandora's Box. Like, a real one. And then we have your presentation in the background, and we say some good shit, and then I'll put some cool stuff inside like whatever the evil spirits were in the myth. And then we can paint it up all fucking nice and bam! We've got our grades."

"Don't forget the hope," Peridot reminds her.

Jasper waves a hand. "Yeah, that too."

Peridot exhales. "You know, this isn't actually a terrible idea."

"You underestimate me, Peri. I'm hurt. Really, I am."

"Sure you are," she says with a chuckle, lightly slapping the side of Jasper's arm.

"Are you sure you want to punch the woman with a glue gun and a saw a couple of feet away from her? Also, I could bench like ten of you." Jasper laughs. Peridot doesn't know why the last line makes her mouth dry.

"Yeah," she simply replies. They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds.

Jasper raises an eyebrow. "So, Pandora's Box?" she asks, rolling up her sleeves.

Peridot nods. "Pandora's Box."

* * *

 _a/n: peridot, honey, ur mouth is dry because ur thirsty, u useless lesbian_

 _woah ok, so a lot of stuff went down in this chapter, usually i like to talk about down here but i feel like a ramble on a bit hahah, idk_

 _but one thing i do want to say is finally the history project returns! i bet you all forget about that lmao. and with more focus on the project this means more jasper! and more jaspidot!_  
 _holy shit this chapter was really gay_

 _please leave reviews telling me what you liked, if you have questions i'll answer them as well (as long as it isn't too spoilerific). please just comment my ass is thirsty for praise_  
 _(much like peri is thristy for jasper) okay i'm going now bye_


End file.
